SF Giants should get a boost to the starting rotation soon enough

The SF Giants expect to get a boost to the rotation soon enough. On Friday, Logan Webb began a rehab assignment with the Sacramento River Cats, where he completed 3.1 innings against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

Yes, that is their actual name. Minor league baseball teams have the best team names in sports. Webb allowed just one unearned run with three walks and two strikeouts in what is expected to be his lone rehab outing. With rehab assignments, the results are often not that important. What was important was that Webb got his pitch count up to 62.

The right-handed hurler landed on the injured list at the beginning of May with a knee ailment. It was not considered serious, but it was affecting the way he was pitching.

Webb has been one of the better pitchers of this decade, but he has struggled to a 5.06 ERA in eight outings for the Giants this season. The Giants hope that Webb returns to form once he comes back from the injured list.

The SF Giants will have a decision to make in the rotation once Logan Webb returns

Webb is eligible to come off the injured list on May 24, but they will likely wait until his next outing to make a roster move. The question then shifts to whose spot in the rotation does he take?

It is hard to ignore that Webb pitched on the same night as Trevor McDonald. The Giants could insert him into McDonald's spot in the rotation. That would feel a bit unfair to McDonald, who has thrown the ball well since being recalled. Even while he had the worst outing of his young career on Friday night, there is a case to make that he would have had better results if a few breaks had gone in his favor.

McDonald has pitched to a 4.76 ERA with 21 strikeouts and four walks in 22.2 innings this season. He has done a nice job at keeping the ball on the ground and in the ballpark while limiting the traffic on the bases.

The other vulnerable spots in the rotation include Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle. The Giants' offseason additions have not lived up to expectations so far, and if the Giants want to give McDonald a longer look, they could move one of the veterans to the bullpen. Houser has recorded a 5.25 ERA in nine starts this year, but he has been better over his past few outings. On the other hand, Mahle has a 6.10 ERA in 10 starts and is on a fairly predictable pattern of making one quality start followed by a poor outing.

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