Tyler Beede takes the mound for Sacramento River Cats season opener

It’s been 588 days since San Francisco Giants right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Beede last took the mound in a meaningful baseball game. But on Thursday he took a major step in his rehab by returning to the mound for the AAA Sacramento River Cats season opener, with Joey Bart serving as the other half of the battery.

Beede was having a breakout Spring Training in March 2020, and looked to be benefitting more than anyone from the Giants highly-regarded coaching staff. But a few days before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus, Beede suffered a UCL injury. In late March he had Tommy John surgery, ending his 2020 before the season even was scheduled to start.

It’s always a long and unpredictable road back from Tommy John for pitchers, and while we knew that Beede was nearing a return, it wasn’t entirely clear when he would actually be able to start throwing in games. Now we know.

The Giants are pretty set in their rotation for now, but with the bulk of their starters having a history of injuries, we very well may see Beede filling in sometime soon.