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The San Francisco Giants made a rather surprising move on Tuesday, ahead of their doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies. The team placed right-handed starting pitcher Kevin Gausman on the Injured List and recalled catcher Joey Bart.
ROSTER MOVES: RHP Kevin Gausman placed on the Injured List.
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 4, 2021
C Joey Bart recalled from the Alternate Training Site.
Before you panic about Gausman, it seems that he’s been placed on the IL due to side effects from the coronavirus vaccine. The team did not specify an injury or that the IL stint was 10 days, which points towards a vaccination, and according to one keen-eared KNBR listener, Jon Miller confirmed that theory.
On KNBR, Jon Miller said that is exactly what it is
— Jack (@jackkv) May 4, 2021
Update: The Giants have confirmed this.
The Giants say Kevin Gausman received his COVID-19 vaccine and is experiencing some side effects.
— Maria I. Guardado (@mi_guardado) May 4, 2021
"He's being monitored by our medical staff and our hope is that he'll be back to normal in the next day or two."
Players who are on the IL due to coronavirus vaccinations do not need to sit out the normal minimum of 10 days. Gausman can return to the roster whenever he feels healthy to do so. He’s not projected to make a start until Saturday, so it seems unlikely that he’ll actually miss any playing time, which is good, because Gausman has had a strong season thus far, with a 2.04 ERA, a 3.24 FIP, and 40 strikeouts to 11 walks in 39.2 innings.
In the mean time, we might get to see Joey Bart, rather unanimously viewed as the No. 2 prospect in the Giants system. It’s unlikely that Bart will get playing time at the expense of Buster Posey or Curt Casali, but we might get to see him pinch hit, or finish a game if the Giants are involved in a blowout.
Bart made his MLB debut a year ago and struggled quite a bit, hitting .233/.288/.320, with 41 strikeouts in 111 plate appearances. But the Giants have already called up infielder Jason Vosler and left-handed pitcher Conner Menez from the taxi squad, meaning Bart, infielder Thairo Estrada, and right-handed pitcher Kervin Castro were the only players allowed to take Gausman’s spot on the roster.