Keaton Winn becomes SF Giants’ latest injury victim with forearm strain
SAN FRANCISCO — Add Keaton Winn’s name to the list.
Winn, 26, was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday with a forearm strain that forced him from his start two days earlier. Mason Black, 24, was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento to fill his spot on the 26-man roster and received the start Friday in the opener of the Giants’ three-game series against the Rockies.
Becoming the eighth Giants player to land on the IL in the past two weeks, Winn’s ailment is believed to be mild, according to president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. Winn received an MRI after feeling tightness in his forearm Wednesday that he said felt like a cramp.
“It was good enough news (on the MRI) where it was a little bit of a decision to IL him,” Zaidi said. “We thought he may even be able to pitch in a game 10 days from now or something like that. But being a young guy, someone who isn’t going to be a 180-inning guy anyway, it just made sense to use the offdays that we have in this stretch to exercise some caution and give him the full 15 days. That’s a reflection of the mildness.”
The Giants had their first day off in 16 days on Thursday and have another Monday before Winn is eligible to return May 30.
In nine starts this season, Winn has a 6.17 ERA, inflated by his past three starts, over which he has combined to allow 17 runs in 8⅓ innings. Prior to his recent rough stretch, Winn had strung together three consecutive starts of six-plus innings and one run or fewer, lowering his ERA to 3.17.
On the bright side, the number of Giants on the injured list didn’t swell any larger with the addition of Winn.
Batting leadoff Friday was Jorge Soler, making his return from a 10-game absence with a shoulder strain that he suffered on a swing in Philadelphia. Soler, 32, played two rehab games for Triple-A Sacramento, going 3-for-7 with a walk, a strikeout and a pair of singles.
Outfielder Michael Conforto (hamstring) also resumed light baseball activities, though Austin Slater (concussion) was still dealing with “fogginess,” according to manager Bob Melvin, after crashing into the center field fence Monday. Catcher Patrick Bailey (concussion) visited Dr. Mickey Collins, the same concussion specialist who treated Brandon Belt, and will resume full baseball activity this weekend.
“We’re sort of on the other side of this,” Zaidi said. “We’ve got guys coming back. … You almost start looking at the backend of this when we have to start picking who can stay on this roster and who can we continue to find at-bats for.”