The most minor moves can sometimes have a major impact on a player's season, but Tyler Beede said that won't be the case with a waiver claim that led to the Giants putting the rehabbing right-hander on the 60-day injured list.
The Giants claimed right-hander Jordan Humphreys for the second time last Friday and to clear a roster spot they put Beede on the extended IL, meaning he's not eligible to return until May 31. The club and Beede originally hoped for a late May return to the big leagues, but Beede said on Thursday that he was set back a couple of weeks by a COVID-19 diagnosis in January and everything is still lining up mostly according to plan.
Beede, who had Tommy John surgery last March, just threw the sixth of what will end up being 16 to 18 bullpen sessions in Scottsdale. He said he's still on track to make rehab starts for the Sacramento River Cats in early May, which would potentially have him as an option for the big league roster in June. Beede has thus far been limited to throwing fastballs at about 75 percent effort, but he'll soon graduate to changeups and then breaking balls.
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SIGN UP HERE "I'm feeling good," he said. "I'm really happy with the way the ball is coming out. My intent is, in my mind, down, but the ball is coming out really well with not a lot of effort. I like the way I've been bouncing back. Today I feel great. There are days where I certainly feel stiff and the arm and the elbow are reacting to the stress I'm putting on it, which is good. I'm happy about that. I'm excited to continue to progress with adding the off-speed pitches and building up the intent."
When Beede does get back to 100 percent effort with a full repertoire, the goal will become building up toward 100 pitches. The Giants have a full rotation right now and have continued to build their starting depth over the last couple of weeks, but Beede said that won't impact him. His goal is to be ready to throw 75 to 100 pitches if the Giants need him at the big league level once he's eligible to return, and also to prepare for a full workload in 2022.
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The Giants currently have five starters in their rotation who will be free agents at the end of the season. Part of the goal this year is to see if Beede, Logan Webb or potentially Sean Hjelle and Tristan Beck can lock in for future years.
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"For me it's about setting a good foundation this season of innings to build on for 2022," Beede said. "I don't want to limit myself. Obviously, I need to listen to my body. If there are times when I need to take some downtime, I'll listen to my body accordingly at that point, but in my mind, if all goes well I want to push myself to get to a certain point where I can build on a healthy innings load come next season."