The Giants announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Braxton Roxby. He will take the active roster spot of fellow righty Adrian Houser, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain. Left-hander Carson Whisenhunt has been transferred to the 60-day IL.
Whisenhunt was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow this week. It was reported earlier today that he will undergo surgery. It’s not yet clear if that will be full Tommy John surgery or an alternative but he is going to miss the remainder of this season regardless, so his transfer is not a surprise.
Houser started yesterday’s game but departed yesterday’s game in the second inning with an apparent injury. It’s not clear how much time he’ll miss but it will be at least a couple of weeks. Those injuries and others, plus the Giants trading away Tyler Mahle and Robbie Ray ahead of the deadline, have thinned out the rotation. They have Logan Webb, Landen Roupp and Blade Tidwell in three spots. They will need to fill two more.
Anthony Molina tossed 52 pitches in relief yesterday and could take on more bulk work in a few days. Matt Wilkinson is on the 40-man roster but was just optioned two days ago. His optional assignment needs to last 15 days unless he is directly replacing a player going on the IL. Joe Whitman and Cesar Perdomo are some non-roster options. The Giants could also look to the waiver wire or free agency. Michael Lorenzen and Miles Mikolas were recently released. Zack Littell and Trevor Williams were each designated for assignment in recent days.
Roxby won’t help out in the rotation, as he has been a reliever throughout his minor league career. A former Reds farmhand, Roxby was acquired in January of 2025 in the deal which sent Taylor Rogers to Cincinnati.
The righty has generally racked up big strikeouts throughout his time in the minors but has taken a step back this year. From 2021 to 2025, he logged 231 2/3 innings with a 4.12 earned run average, 30.8% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate. This year, he has thrown 57 innings over 36 Triple-A games with a 4.11 ERA. His walk rate has ticked up to 11.1% while he is only punching out 22.6% of opponents.
A couple of months ago, FanGraphs ranked him the #49 prospect in the Giants’ system, noting that his four-seamer has unusual movement because of his lower slot. He also throws a slider, cutter, two-seamer and occasional changeup. Since this is his first call to the majors, he has a full slate of options and might be in line for frequent shuttling between Triple-A and the big leagues. He will give the bullpen an extra arm for now but, as mentioned, the Giants have to figure out their rotation plans.
Photo courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images
