Even though Alex Dickerson has a history of back problems and came out of Tuesday night's game with back tightness, the Giants were optimistic their starting left fielder would be okay. A few hours later, things had changed.
Dickerson's back was still tight Wednesday morning and the Giants took the cautious route, placing him on the 10-day IL. At the same time, they officially activated left-hander Sammy Long and added right-hander Jimmie Sherfy to the roster. Right-hander Matt Wisler was designated for assignment to clear the other spot.
Manager Gabe Kapler said he expects Dickerson back quickly, noting that the schedule played into the decision. The Giants have had a DH in Texas and Dickerson took that spot Tuesday, but they're playing the next four games at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.
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"It felt like it made sense to get him the rest that he needs to be strong and healthy going forward," Kapler said. "I don't anticipate this being a long stint. I still feel optimism, perhaps not quite as much as I did last night, but I still feel pretty good about it after a conversation with Alex today."
The Long move has been anticipated for a couple of days and he was with the Giants on the taxi squad Tuesday, but the other swap was a bit of a surprise. The Giants were thrilled to add Wisler early in free agency, but he got off to a rough start and never fully found his form. Wisler allowed 13 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings, although the underlying statistics were promising. He had a 4.08 FIP and 26 strikeouts to six walks.
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"It was really tough because there are some underlying things that he's done really well," Kapler said. "I still think he's a good pitcher. He was striking guys out, he wasn't walking a ton of guys -- there was just some contact, some contact at more unfortunate times that turned into big innings, and it was just kind of tough for him to get out from underneath it. The conversation was tough because I think he's good and I think he things he's good, but ultimately I think he understands that this game is about performance and we have a lot of competition for every roster spot."
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Sherfy, a 29-year-old with 43 games of previous experience with the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowed just three hits and struck out 11 in six scoreless appearances at Triple-A.