The San Francisco Giants are set to welcome one of their notable free-agent additions back into the rotation soon.
San Francisco appears confident enough in Tyler Mahle’s recovery to slot him back into the starting staff. The right-hander, who has been sidelined for nearly a month due to injury, is expected to start on Wednesday when the Giants return home to face the Athletics. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Shayna Rubin was among those to report the update.
Left-hander Robbie Ray had originally been lined up to start that day based on the normal rotation schedule, but Mahle’s return would allow Ray to receive an extra day of rest.
No roster moves have been announced yet. The Giants are likely to wait until Wednesday to officially activate Mahle, as the team is currently in Miami for a weekend series against the Marlins.
The Return of Tyler Mahle
Mahle was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 29 with a left hamstring strain. Earlier this week, he made one rehab start with Triple-A Sacramento, tossing three innings while allowing one hit and one run with three strikeouts. He also issued five walks, but managed to work around the trouble.
Before going down, the right-hander had struggled through an uneven season. Signed to a one-year contract in hopes of bringing veteran stability to the rotation, Mahle posted a 1-7 record with a 6.04 ERA across 11 starts before the injury. He struck out 57 batters and walked 24 while surrendering 11 home runs over 56.2 innings. Opponents were hitting .286 against him, a sharp jump from the .218 average he allowed last season with the Texas Rangers.
Health concerns were always part of the equation when the Giants signed Mahle. He had returned from Tommy John surgery before last season and got off to a strong start, going 6-3 with a 2.34 ERA, along with 56 strikeouts and 27 walks in 77 innings over the first three months. However, the Rangers placed him on the injured list in June with right shoulder fatigue, which was later diagnosed as a rotator cuff strain.
Mahle did make it back for a handful of starts late in the season and ultimately finished with a 6-4 record and a 2.18 ERA.
He is now set to rejoin a rotation featuring Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Landen Roupp, and Adrian Houser. Trevor McDonald appears to be the most likely candidate to move out of the rotation once Mahle is officially reinstated.