Tristian Beck has been diagnosed with an aneurysm in his upper right arm region and will miss Opening Day.
Beck was playing catch and kept feeling his hand freezing cold. This is never good news for a pitcher and is a telling sign something is wrong. He also felt his hand go numb and lose feeling in his hand. Beck flew back to the Bay Area to see a vascular specialist at his alma mater, Stanford. Luckily, the vascular specialist found the blood clot before it could have gotten much worse or even life-threatening. Bob Melvin said he hasn’t had a player with this condition under his management in his 40 years of coaching.
Last season, Tristian Beck pitched 85 innings with 3 starts. His ERA was 3.92, xERA 3.71, 68 K, and 21 BB. Melvin had slotted in Beck as the 4 in the rotation but will now need to adjust. A treatment option hasn’t been decided yet, but surgery is most likely and will be a 3-month recovery.
Keaton Winn has a sore right elbow and will throw a bullpen this weekend to see if it has healed.
Winn is slotted as the 5 starter and will most likely miss his first start of the season if he can’t ramp up quickly. An MRI was conducted last week and revealed no structural damage or major concerns. Hopefully, with a week plus off, he won’t be out for an extended period of time. Winn was the No. 12 prospect in the Giants system last season, according to Fan Graphs. He threw 42.1 innings with 5 starts. Winn had a 4.68 ERA, 4.27 xERA, 3.89 xFIP, and 35 K.
Sean Hjelle:
The 6’ 11” Hjelle could be an option as a temporary replacement due to his 15 appearances last year from the bullpen. He also pitched 8 games in 2022 for the Giants but has yet to start a game. This Spring Hjelle has pitched 3 innings and allowed 4 earned runs. He will need to start pitching better to create trust with Melvin. Hjelle was a dominant starter for the University of Kentucky but has been ineffective as a starter in the minors thus far. He has made 93 career starts in the minors and was most effective in 2019 in low A, high A, and a bit of Double-A.
Mason Black:
The 3rd round draft pick in the 2021 draft from Lehigh University could find his way as the 4 or 5 starter due to these injuries. Black has never played in the big leagues but could be shortly. In his first start of spring, he went 2 innings, allowing 2 earned runs.
Daulton Jefferies:
The former Cal Bear could get the nod for a temporary starting spot from another Cal alum in his manager, Bob Melvin. Jefferies made 10 starts in 3 years with the Oakland A’s but hasn’t been in the big leagues since 2022. He has thrown 2 innings in the spring and allowed 1 earned run. Jefferies could be an easy in-house option to eat some innings to start the year.
Sign Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery:
Both left-handed pitchers are still available and looking for a new team. With two holes in the rotation, signing both guys would put the league on major notice, but one of them is more likely. Signing one of them is necessary, with two starting pitchers down. Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray should join the rotation in the mid to late part of the Regular Season. Adding either Snell or Montgomery would add another established starter to stabilize the rotation.
