SF Giants send a pair of young pitchers back to minor league camp

The SF Giants trimmed the camp roster for the second down in a row. This time, Trevor McDonald and Carson Whisenhunt were sent back to minor league camp, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

SF Giants send a pair of young pitchers back to minor league camp

The first wave of roster cuts occurred on Wednesday. This group was headlined by Bryce Eldridge, Mason Black, and Marco Luciano.

I should note that the verbage is slightly different for McDonald and Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt was a non-roster invitee, so he was reassigned back to minor league camp. On the other hand, McDonald occupies a spot on the 40-man roster, so he was optioned. The end result is the same but the roster treatment is slightly different.

Following these moves, the number of players currently on the 40-man roster still in major league camp is down to 37.

Neither of these cuts were surprising. While Whisenhunt throws from the left side and the Giants have an obvious need for a second left-handed reliever in the bullpen, they would prefer to stretch him out as a starter.

Whisenhunt made two appearances for the Giants this spring, recording three scoreless innings with two strikeouts. He will return to Sacramento where he spent the bulk of the 2024 season.

You would not know it by looking at his 5.42 ERA in 25 starts in Triple-A last season, but it was a promising year for the young pitcher. The Giants will want him to throw more strikes, mix in his slider more regularly, and continue building up arm strength to handle a starter's workload.

McDonald will likely join Whisenhunt in Sacramento's rotation. The River Cats' rotation could be a good one, as the Giants have a lot of pitching prospects in the upper minors. They may even need to go with piggyback starts on some days.

The right-handed hurler gave up three earned runs across 3.1 Cactus League innings this spring. He is coming off of a year in which he tallied a 4.40 ERA in 24 outings split across four levels. This includes a 4.72 ERA in 10 appearances with the River Cats.

Similar to Whisenhunt, the goal for McDonald will be to build up arm strength. He has very low mileage on his arm with someone who has appeared in five seasons in the minors. There is a good chance that he makes an appearance in the Giants rotation this year.