CHICAGO -- The Giants dipped into their farm system on Friday to provide a boost for their bullpen, recalling right-hander Carson Seymour from Triple-A Sacramento and optioning Sean Hjelle ahead of the club’s series opener against the White Sox at Rate Field.
Seymour, who is ranked the Giants’ No. 20 prospect by MLB Pipeline, logged a 3.89 ERA with 83 strikeouts over 74 innings in 15 starts for Triple-A Sacramento this year. The 26-year-old Southern California native was scheduled to start for the River Cats on Thursday, but he was scratched and replaced by Kai-Wei Teng at the last minute, which ended up foreshadowing his first callup to the Majors.
Seymour said he found out about his promotion from River Cats manager Dave Brundage, who called him into his office on Thursday -- ostensibly to talk about the running game and times to the plate -- before finally sharing the big news.
“I had a feeling something was going on because I saw [pitching coach Alain Quijano] go on the phone prior to that,” Seymour said. “I’m like, ‘Something’s up, for sure,’ because usually we never meet with Brundy about any of that. He was like, ‘You’re going to Chicago.’”
Seymour said he expects to have several family members in the stands on Friday night, including his wife, parents, sister and in-laws. (Fun fact: His father-in-law, Donnie Campbell, was Jason Sudeikis’ high school basketball coach in Kansas and served as the real-life inspiration for the titular character in the hit Apple TV+ television show “Ted Lasso.”)
Seymour, who was added to the 40-man roster over the offseason, has primarily pitched out of the rotation in the Minors, but he’s expected to take on a long relief role for the Giants for now. San Francisco’s bullpen has been the best unit in the Majors this year, but it's coming off a rough homestand that ended with a three-game sweep by the Marlins on Thursday.
Giants relievers allowed at least one run in each of the club’s past six games against Boston and Miami, recording a 5.84 ERA over that span.
Seymour should provide a fresh look for the Giants, as he’s a power arm who features an upper 90s four-seam fastball, a sinker, two different sliders and a cutter.
“We saw it in Spring Training,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s big stuff. It’s high velocity. It’s down the mound. There’s a lot to like. There’s strikeouts involved. It’s someone that we have a bright future for. It’s not a bad idea to get guys here, get a taste of the big leagues, pitch them out of the bullpen. We do have some need for some length right now, and that’s probably how he’ll be used. We’re excited about having him here.”
A sixth-round Draft pick of the Mets in 2021, Seymour was acquired as part of the Darin Ruf trade with New York three years ago. Listed at 6-foot-6, 255 pounds, Seymour is slated to become the first of the three Carsons to debut with the Giants, beating left-hander Carson Whisenhunt (San Francisco’s No. 2 prospect) and right-hander Carson Ragsdale (No. 21), though he’s not one to brag about it.
“We’re all equally great, I would say,” Seymour said. “We all love each other. It’s all good.”
Hjelle gave up four runs over one inning in his last appearance against the Marlins on Thursday and has a 6.75 ERA over nine outings for the Giants this year. The 28-year-old right-hander was also accused of abuse in a since-deleted TikTok post from his wife, Caroline, last week, prompting the Giants to pass along the matter to MLB.
Melvin said Hjelle’s demotion was performance-based, noting that he’d pitched three days in a row and would have likely been unavailable to provide length this weekend.