The Giants are swapping out almost 20% of their active roster. San Francisco placed Willy Adames (left elbow sprain), JT Brubaker (bruised ribs) and Victor Bericoto (bone bruise in right knee) on the injured list. Adames and Bericoto land on the 10-day IL, while Brubaker will miss a minimum of 15 days. San Francisco also placed Bryce Eldridge on the bereavement list and optioned rookie southpaw Tugboat Wilkinson.
To fill those active roster spots, the Giants recalled five players from Triple-A Sacramento: Nate Furman, Grant McCray, Anthony Molina, Ryan Walker and Shay Whitcomb. Those players all have major league experience, though Whitcomb and Molina would be making their team debuts.
Adames’ injured list placement is the most notable of this series of transactions. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area relays that it’s a moderate strain which is likely to extend beyond the minimum 10 days. Manager Tony Vitello told reporters (including Shayna Rubin of The San Francisco Chronicle) that the Giants expect Adames back before the end of the season.
Christian Koss draws into the lineup tonight at shortstop. He’s hitting .200/.238/.250 without a home run in 39 games this year. Koss has already been an everyday player at third base with Matt Chapman and Casey Schmitt both down for the season. Whitcomb, who was claimed off waivers from the Astros two weeks ago, gets the nod at the hot corner against Cincinnati ace Chase Burns.
McCray is back up in Bericoto’s place. He gets the start in right field, as Jung Hoo Lee will get a partial breather working as the designated hitter. Eldridge will miss the Cincinnati series. Rubin reported over the weekend that he’ll be away to attend his grandfather’s funeral.
Molina and Walker will step into the bullpen with Brubaker out and Wilkinson heading back to Triple-A. The latter made two abbreviated starts last week, allowing four runs in his first 5 2/3 big league innings. Molina came over from Atlanta at the deadline for Tyler Mahle and has worked nine innings of four-run ball with the River Cats.
