San Francisco Giants make flurry of roster moves over weekend

Jun 26, 2023, 9:47 AM

HOUSTON, TEXAS - MAY 01: Ross Stripling #48 of the San Francisco Giants delivers during the first i...

(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Sacramento Kings Beat Writer

The San Francisco Giants continued their winning ways over the weekend as they took two out of three games from the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks.

Not only have the Giants won 14 of their past 18 games, but they have also trimmed the Diamondbacks’ lead in the National League West to just 2.5 games while leap-frogging the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the standings.

Although San Francisco has arguably played the best baseball in the league over the past two weeks, a crucial part of that process was placed on the injured list on Friday as Mike Yastrzemski deals with a left hamstring strain.

Yastrzemski was batting .313 with four home runs and 11 RBI over his past eight games before being placed on the injured list, while infielder Isan Díaz was called up to make his Giants debut.

Along with the move to place Yastrzemski on the injured list, San Francisco reliever Luke Jackson was shelved for 15 days due to a low back strain. Jackson exited Saturday’s game against Arizona after throwing just four pitches during the sixth inning.

#SFGiants roster moves:

• RHP Ross Stripling returned from rehab and reinstated from the 15-day IL

• RHP Luke Jackson placed on the 15-day IL with a low back strain

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 25, 2023

While the Giants will lose Jackson for 15 days, the open roster spot cleared the way for starting pitcher Ross Stripling to make his long-awaited return to the big league roster.

Stripling has been on the injured list since May 19th due to a low back strain, and the veteran right-hander had struggled before that to the tune of a 7.24 ERA over nine appearances.

The 33-year-old is in line to make his return on Thursday night when San Francisco faces the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, but that could change if manager Gabe Kapler wants to shake up his team’s ever-changing rotation.

Speaking of the starting rotation, the Giants also announced on Saturday that right-hander Alex Cobb would be starting a rehab assignment with Single-A affiliate San Jose. Cobb looked strong during his rehab start, striking out nine batters and allowing one run over 3.2 innings of work.

San Francisco expects to have Cobb back in the rotation for this weekend’s series against the New York Mets in Queens.