SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The battle for the fifth spot in the Giants’ rotation feels wide open now that Tyler Beede is out with a sprained right elbow, but veteran Trevor Cahill might have surged to the front of the pack after delivering a dominant performance in a 12-7 win over the White Sox on Saturday at Scottsdale Stadium.

In his first Cactus League start and third appearance of the spring overall, Cahill worked three perfect innings and racked up five strikeouts. The 32-year-old right-hander is in camp as a non-roster invitee after signing a Minor League deal with the Giants earlier this month, but manager Gabe Kapler said he views Cahill as a potentially valuable asset to the pitching staff due to his versatility.

“He's in competition to play a meaningful role on our club,” Kapler said. “That could be as a starter from time to time. It could be as a multi-inning reliever. It could be as a guy who comes in and wipes out four right-handed hitters in a row. Part of the bonus of being a cutter-changeup guy is you can get lefties out as well. I think [pitching coach Andrew Bailey] made the point this morning that you don't acquire 10 years of service time without having pitchability, the ability to mix and match and be creative to get through lineups.”

Beede entered Spring Training as the favorite to join Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly in the Giants’ rotation, but he is expected to miss significant time after an MRI exam revealed a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and flexor tendon in his right elbow earlier this week.

Beede has expressed optimism that he will be able to avoid Tommy John surgery, but the Giants will wait to hear a second opinion before determining a course of treatment. The 26-year-old is expected to travel to Los Angeles on Monday for a consultation with Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Cahill joined the Angels’ rotation on a one-year, $9 million deal last year, but he logged a 6.92 ERA over his first 11 starts and spent the final four months of the season pitching out of the bullpen. Still, he is only two years removed from a resurgent campaign with the A’s in 2018, when he recorded a 3.76 ERA over 110 innings in 21 appearances (20 starts).

Cahill said he hasn’t given much thought to how Beede’s situation might impact his possible role with the Giants moving forward.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” Cahill said. “I just pitch when I’m told to pitch. I’m trying to be ready for pitching through the dog days of summer. Whatever happens early on, I’m more worried about the end of the season, being healthy and ready to go.”

More than half a dozen candidates remain in the mix for the final rotation spot, as the Giants are also evaluating Logan Webb, Dereck Rodríguez, Andrew Suárez, Shaun Anderson, Tyson Ross and Trevor Oaks, who is slated to make his first Cactus League start on Monday against the Indians at Goodyear Ballpark.

Big day for the bats
The Giants’ offense broke out for 18 hits, including four home runs, against seven White Sox pitchers on Saturday. Non-roster invitee Darin Ruf homered twice, slugging a leadoff home run in the fifth and adding a mammoth two-run shot that cleared the batter’s eye in center field in the eighth. Top prospect Joey Bart and infielder Zach Green also went deep.

Ruf, 33, hasn’t played in the Majors since 2016, as he spent the last three seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization, where he hit .313 with a .968 OPS and 86 home runs over 404 games

“Sometimes I’ll ask our hitting group who they want to see more of, and Ruf just keeps coming up,” Kapler said. “And for good reason. Even on the balls he’s not squaring up, he’s still right on them. You see the foul balls -- very aggressive swings, on time and with balance. That’s an indication that he’s feeling really good at the plate.”

Up next
Samardzija will make his third Cactus League start on Sunday as the Giants host the Mariners at Scottsdale Stadium at 1:05 p.m. PT. He will be opposed by Seattle left-hander Justus Sheffield. Tyler Rogers, Trevor Gott, Rico Garcia, Shaun Anderson and Carlos Navas are also scheduled to pitch for San Francisco. The game is available on MLB.TV and Gameday Audio.