Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
In an injury-riddled season for the San Francisco Giants, they’re finally going to be getting players back from the DL rather than sending players to it. The plan is to bring back injured pitchers Jake Peavy and Matt Cain in the first week of July.
These two pitchers will likely slide Tim Hudson and Tim Lincecum out of rotation and provide a huge boost to the team as a whole. Peavy hasn’t pitched in the majors since Apr. 17 and Cain hasn’t pitched in the majors since last season. Cain, especially, has the potential to make the Giants the favorites in the NL West.
With the rival Los Angeles Dodgers going through some pitching problems of their own (Hyun-Jin Ryu is out for the season and Clayton Kershaw hasn’t been as sharp as usual), the arrival of these two pitchers could catapult San Francisco to the top. It would also make a deadline pitching acquisition even deadlier.
The Giants have been connected to pitcher Johnny Cueto, and if they were able to land him and if Cain and Peavy stay healthy, they will suddenly have one of the best rotations in baseball. However, if Cain or Peavy experience a setback and the Giants can’t acquire top-of-the-rotation pitching at the deadline, they are in some serious trouble.
Basically, the hope of the Giants’ season may rest on the shoulders of the two oft-injured pitchers returning from injury. They make up 40 percent of the rotation, and that’s a lot of pressure. Even with that, these two pitchers have been on the shelf for so long that they’re likely just looking forward getting back on the mound. If they’re able to stay on that mound for the rest of the season, they may be pitching well into October.
