Giants place Logan Webb on the Injured List

All season long, Logan Webb has been the injury stopgap pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. He started the season in the rotation because Alex Wood began the year on the Injured List. After one game in the bullpen, Webb returned to the rotation because Johnny Cueto got injured. And Cueto’s return came right as Aaron Sanchez hit the IL, giving Webb a third pitcher to fill in for.

Now Webb is the pitcher who needs filling in for.

Webb was removed from Monday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds after the sixth inning, despite the fact that he was pitching very well. It came out after the game that he was dealing with shoulder soreness, and now he’s been placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to Tuesday) with a shoulder strain.

The Giants sound confident that Webb — who was scheduled to take the mound on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers — will only miss one game.

It’s not yet clear who will start on Saturday, or what the plan will be. Gabe Kapler mentioned that the team has options out of the bullpen and also in AAA, so perhaps we see Caleb Baragar get his wish, or maybe Scott Kazmir or Nick Tropeano will get called up. There’s also the possibility of a full bullpen game, which the Giants haven’t done in a while.

One thing we won’t see is Tyler Beede. The righty is looking good in Sacramento, but is not yet eligible to return from the IL.

For now, Webb is replaced on the roster by left-handed reliever José Álvarez, who was activated after a stint on the IL. Álvarez has made 12 appearances for the Giants this year, and has a 4.35 ERA, a 3.62 FIP, and 11 strikeouts to 9 walks in 10.1 innings.