SAN FRANCISCO — With all of the attrition among the Giants pitching staff, manager Bruce Bochy has had to get creative.
On Monday, the Giants added Tyler Beede, their 2014 first-round draft pick, as part of their taxi squad. Beede has never appeared in an MLB game, although his debut appears to be imminent.
Bochy wouldn’t disclose Beede’s debut date, however, hours before San Francisco played the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks Monday night.
“We haven’t done anything official yet,” Bochy said. “There are a couple things involved. We are going to need another starter coming up in 10 days. We are just talking about our best options right now (and) keep some flexibility with the staff.”
Bochy said he would have news regarding Beede’s next appearance after Monday night’s game.
But all signs point to Beede’s MLB debut coming Wednesday. Derek Holland will start Monday’s game. Earlier Monday, the Giants announced Johnny Cueto would start Tuesday’s game. Bochy previously hinted that a No. 5 starter will be used Wednesday, which infers Beede will start then.
Until he is activated, Beede will remain on the ‘taxi squad,’ which adds a 26th player who cycles in and out of the big-league squad in short-term scenarios.
“You get moments during the season where there are some questions, sometimes the Triple A club isn’t real close to you,” Bochy said. “It gets the player here so you aren’t in a rush mode.”
The Giants could have activated Beede Monday, Bochy confirmed, though that was unlikely.
Beede has never made a relief appearance throughout his five seasons in the minor leagues. In 19 Triple A starts with San Jose last season, Beede went 6-7 with a 4.79 ERA.
The Giants are trying to salvage a brutal early-season injury bug that has riddled their top starting pitchers. Madison Bumgarner suffered a broken left pinkie late in his final Spring Training appearance more than two weeks ago. His return date is set in early June.
Jeff Samardzija is recovering from a pectoral strain, though his injury is much less serious than Bumgarner’s. During Monday’s pregame press conference, Bochy said Samardzija looked ‘very good’ in a three-inning, 45-pitch rehab start Monday.
Until he returns, which could be as early as 10 days, Bochy will continue to mix and match. Beede is the latest summonable piece in Bochy’s master plan.
“It’s nice to have this flexibility,” Bochy said. “But at the same time, you sometimes have to get creative to make sure you are covering all of your bases.”
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