For the second day in a row, the San Francisco Giants have placed a starting pitched on the Injured List with a potentially devastating injury. On Tuesday, it was lefty Carson Whisenhunt, who left Monday's start with elbow discomfort and is now headed for Tommy John surgery . And on Wednesday, it was righty Adrian Houser, who left Tuesday's game with elbow discomfort and will now hope for better news than his teammate.
The Giants officially placed Houser on the 15-Day Injured List with a right forearm strain. Taking his place on the roster is right-handed reliever Braxton Roxby, who had his contract purchased from AAA Sacramento. To make space on the 40-man roster for Roxby, the Giants moved Whisenhunt to the 60-Day IL.
The hope is that Houser, who is under contract for next year, has avoided a catastrophic injury. He sounded fairly optimistic after the game, which is a good sign. We'll have to wait and see.
As for Roxby, this will be his chance to make his MLB debut. The 27-year old was an undrafted free agent following the truncated 2020 draft, and came to the Giants in the Taylor Rogers trade before the 2025 season. He has just a 4.11 ERA and a 4.92 FIP with Sacramento this season, but has been pitching very well over the last month or two.
He's a four-pitch pitcher, who this year has relied fairly heavily on a slider, sinker, and cutter, with his four-seam fastball — which averages 94.6 mph — being used quite a bit less frequently than that trio. The fastball and slider have really stymied AAA hitters this year, while the cutter has been hit fairly hard and the sinker has been demolished. It will be interesting to see what pitch mix the Giants have him throw.
Either way, it's exciting to welcome another player to the big leagues. And hopefully good news awaits Houser on the injury front.
