SF Giants news: Encarnacion and Verlander nearing return, offense still putrid

The SF Giants have been struggling on offense as of late, but on the brighter side they should have to key players returning soon. Let's take a look at the key news items for the Giants as the month of May nears its end.

SF Giants news: Encarnacion and Verlander nearing return as offense struggles

Justin Verlander throws bullpen session

Veteran starter Justin Verlander threw a bullpen session on Tuesday as he attempts to come back from his pectoral injury. He is currently on the 15-day IL due to the injury, and the hope was always that he would only miss two starts before he was able to return.

Verlander appears to be on schedule to return after he threw roughly 40 pitches in the session, but we will have to see how his body reacts a day after throwing to see if his body is able to bounce back properly.

If he does return on schedule, it will likely mean that Kyle Harrison's stint in the rotation was a short one. He is still on track to start Friday's game in Miami, but Verlander should be back in the rotation the next time through if all goes well. Even if Harrison goes back to the bullpen and pitches well he will still get opportunities to start throughout the season.

Jerar Encarnacion starts rehab assignment

The Awaited Savior of the Giants 2025 Season, Jerar Encarnacion, began a rehab assignment with the Sacramento River Cats last night. While that title is clearly a joke, it does feel a little like the Giants are counting on him to give them a big boost with how bleak things have been on offense.

Encarnacion has been on the shelf since March when he fractured his hand diving for a ball in the outfield in a spring training game.

One hopes he can provide some sort of spark for the offense when he returns. It is definitely a positive sign that he hit a home run last night for the River Cats. The Savior is Coming...

The offense is bad

This brings us to our last news item which is that the team's offense is struggling in a big way. Here is the number of runs the Giants have scored in each of the last ten games: 1, 3, 1, 3, 4, 4, 0, 3, 1, 1. The team is 5-5 in those games which speaks to how strong their pitching has been.

Yet, the lack of offensive production is simply not tenable. The Giants need to find some offense, fast. To be a Giants fan is to deal with the team sputtering on offense at times. It is right up there with garlic fries and hating the Dodgers. We have seen Giants teams struggle horrifically on offense before and some of those teams went on to win a World Series.

That is not to say that the 2025 Giants will do the same, but it is to say that these offensive droughts do not last forever no matter how excruciating they can be to watch. Perhaps Encarnacion's return can give the team a bit of a spark that gets them back on track.