The San Francisco Giants called up Shay Whitcomb from Triple-A on Monday, one of five players brought up in a roster overhaul that changed the club’s look just before its home series against the Cincinnati Reds. The move put Whitcomb on the active side of the ledger at the same time the Giants shuffled in Nate Furman, Grant McCray, Anthony Molina and Ryan Walker.
Whitcomb’s rise gives San Francisco another infielder in a period when the club is trying to patch together enough healthy bats and arms to get through the series at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California. He had already passed through the organization once before, arriving from the Houston Astros in a waivers claim, and now finds himself back in the majors at a moment when the Giants need coverage almost everywhere.
The roster work was not limited to the call-ups. Matt Wilkinson went down to Triple-A, Willy Adames was placed on the injured list with a left elbow ligament sprain, Victor Verricoto went on the injured list with a right knee bone bruise and JT Brubaker was shelved with a rib bone bruise after all three were hurt the previous day in Boston. Bryce Eldridge was also away on a funeral holiday and was set to miss all three consecutive games with Cincinnati, leaving the Giants to piece together the rest of the weekend with a thinner bench than they had planned for.
That helps explain why Lee Jung-hoo was expected to serve only as the designated hitter on the 25th, even though the Giants also had two left-handed hitters who can cover first base. Tony Vitello said he had to manage the players carefully after a long flight and a long wait on the runway, and he framed the decisions as a matter of keeping the balance right and spreading innings and at-bats evenly. The setup leaves Whitcomb and the rest of the newcomers in line for immediate value, but the exact role each of them will fill has not been spelled out.
