Monday BP: Injury updates

Happy Monday, San Francisco Giants fans.

The Giants are positively cruising, even after dropping the series finale to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. But hey, they played the Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres for 10 straight days, and I can count the amount of times they lost using just my thumbs. We will happily take that.

For the first few weeks of the season, we waited for the Giants to get healthy. It never fully happened. They just figured out how to win despite it, which, it turns out, is a helluva lot more sustainable, so bravo, chaps.

Anyway, they have some injured players, so let’s fill you in on what’s going on.

The Giants made a move before Sunday’s game, placing right-handed pitcher Luke Jackson on the 15-day IL, and recalling right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling.

Losing Jackson is a loss, but it comes with a tremendous silver lining. He’s hitting the IL with a back strain, and the estimate is that he’ll be out two or three weeks. Losing a late-inning reliever who has a 2.16 ERA and a 1.59 FIP is a bummer. But someone who just finished their year-and-a-half long Tommy John rehab taking themselves out of a game after throwing a pitch and only being sidelined for a few weeks is a good thing. That was scare for a moment.

Stripling, who hasn’t played since May 17, is a welcome addition back, even if his numbers this year are poor. He started the season struggling, got moved to the bullpen, then was back in the rotation when he got injured, and was pitching much better. I would expect him to return to the rotation, especially since Alex Cobb is on the IL, but cameras did show him warming up late during Sunday’s game, so who knows.

Speaking of Cobb, he made a rehab appearance on Sunday in Low-A, and the Giants expressed confidence that he’ll be activated for next weekend’s series against the New York Mets. That series starts on Friday the 30th, which is the earliest that Cobb is allowed to be activated by.

As for another righty, Tristan Beck exited Sunday’s game, and it turns out it was due to a very mild injury: a small cut on his thumb.

Wilmer Flores is eligible to come off the IL on Tuesday, when the Giants start a series against the Toronto Blue Jays. He said that he’ll be ready to be activated, though we’ll see if the Giants bring him back immediately or wait to play a matchup.

No word on LaMonte Wade Jr., who has been dinged up, exited Saturday’s game early, and didn’t play Sunday. Hopefully he’ll be able to avoid the IL.

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants have a very well-deserved off day today. They’ll spend it flying 2,500 miles so they can play the Toronto Brandon Belts on Tuesday night.