It’s an uphill battle for the San Francisco Giants to return to the postseason after a two-year drought.
Not only have they fallen to fourth place in baseball’s best division, but they also have to play 12 of their final 29 games against teams directly ahead of them in the National League West standings.
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With that in mind, it’s practically imperative for the Giants to have a full roster in the final month of the season if they want to have any hope of a Wild Card spot.
This week has dealt a severe blow to their ambitions.
Photo by Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images
On Tuesday, the Giants placed two of their top pitchers, former Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray and versatile right-hander Jordan Hicks, on the 15-day injured list.
Ray left his last start, a 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, with a strained left hamstring. The former Cy Young Award winner had a 4.70 ERA over 30.2 innings, with 43 strikeouts and 15 walks.
The left-hander’s potential return to form after missing almost all of last season (and most of this year) due to Tommy John surgery was a bright spot the team had been looking forward to during a mediocre first half of the season.
Ray, 32, has a 77-73 record with a 3.98 ERA in 233 career games with the Detroit Tigers (2014), Arizona Diamondbacks (2015-20), Toronto Blue Jays (2020-21), Seattle Mariners (2022-23) and Giants.
Hicks, 27, was placed on the injured list for 15 days with a right shoulder injury. In his first season as a full-time member of a major league rotation, he was 3-7 with a 3.90 ERA.
Most recently, the Giants used Hicks from the bullpen, where he was able to further increase his highest innings total to date, which was already at 108.1 and continues to rise.
From 2018 to 2023, Hicks played 187 games for the St. Louis Cardinals, wowing fans with a triple-digit fastball and making 28 saves as the team’s occasional closer. San Francisco signed Hicks as a free agent for four years and $44 million, banking on his potential as a starter.
For almost four months the risk was worth it.
For now, right-handers Landen Roupp and Austin Warren will fill the Giants’ pitching vacancies. Both are relievers, however, so the Giants will now have to complete their September rotation without Ray.
“I think he caught it at the right time and didn’t try to overdo it, but thighs are thighs,” San Francisco manager Bob Melvin told reporters in Milwaukee before the Giants’ game in Milwaukee on Tuesday. “You’re probably going to have to expect at least a couple of weeks.”
