MILWAUKEE -- The Giants’ bullpen depth took another hit on Wednesday, when left-hander Matt Gage landed on the 15-day injured list with right knee inflammation. Right-hander Dylan Smith was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move.
Gage has emerged as one of San Francisco’s top relievers this year, logging a 2.63 ERA over a team-high 29 appearances. Manager Tony Vitello said Gage had been dealing with the knee issue for a while, though the 33-year-old journeyman didn’t look right in his last outing against the Brewers on Monday, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks over one inning in the Giants’ 16-2 drubbing at American Family Field.
“Little bit of knee tenderness, I think specifically kind of stemming between his quad and the knee,” Vitello said before Wednesday's game against the Brewers. “He'd been battling that for a while. If you know him, he's kind of been through everything you can to get into the big leagues and obviously doesn't want any time down. He's fought through it, but it was good to come forward with that information. Obviously, when he's at his best, he's one of our best guys. But he's got to get that past him, so he’ll get a little bit of treatment. We’ll see how long that actually is, but it’s something they've identified as kind of a connection between the knee and the quad as a whole problem.”
Gage’s IL placement is retroactive to Monday, meaning he’ll be eligible to return as soon as June 17. In the meantime, the Giants are likely to lean a bit more heavily on Erik Miller and Sam Hentges, their two other lefty options in the bullpen.
Miller and Hentges have both missed time with injuries, but they’re currently healthy and have ERAs of 4.15 and 2.25, respectively, for the Giants this year.
“I don't think you necessarily replace [Gage] for a lot of reasons, even if it is a left-handed arm,” Vitello said. “But I think it's just going in a different direction and trying to make the most of the pieces we have down there. The one thing we've done is go through a couple spells where we don't have Erik Miller, and we do have Erik. I think Sam is obviously still finding himself and trying to find his best baseball, so the more reps he gets, the better off he is. Obviously, when it comes to lefties, we're going to lean on those two heavily, but they just have to pivot a little bit and make the most of the guys that are down there.”
Gage is the second Giants reliever to hit the shelf this week, joining right-hander Joel Peguero, who landed on the 60-day IL with a left hamstring strain on Monday. Their absences should create more opportunities for young pitchers like Smith, who posted a 3.98 ERA in 15 relief appearances for Sacramento this season.
Smith, who was acquired from the Tigers in exchange for cash considerations in March, has made one appearance for the Giants thus far, working a scoreless inning against the Pirates on May 10.
The injury bug has also struck the Giants’ Triple-A roster in recent weeks, as infielder Christian Koss, outfielder Grant McCray and right-hander Gregory Santos are currently sidelined. Koss suffered a left wrist fracture and will be re-examined in two weeks, while McCray has a fractured hamate bone in his left wrist and will undergo surgery to have it removed from his wrist on Thursday in Arizona. Santos, meanwhile, is expected to miss the next two to three weeks with a right adductor strain.