Giants option Suárez, Duggar; roster at 28
The Giants optioned left-hander Andrew Suárez and outfielder Steven Duggar to pare their roster down from 30 to 28 players on Thursday.
Rosters were originally expected to be further reduced to 26 players on Aug. 20, but they will now remain at 28 through the end of the 2020 season following a new agreement between Major League Baseball and the Players Association on Wednesday.
Suárez and Duggar joined Dereck Rodríguez, Andrew Triggs and Chris Herrmann on the Giants’ taxi squad, which expanded from three to five players as part of the new roster rules.
Suárez, 27, was called up on Monday to give the Giants another left-handed relief option against the Rockies, but he didn’t appear in the first three games of the series. Manager Gabe Kapler said the Giants warmed him up several times on Wednesday night, but they didn’t bring him into the game after rookie Logan Webb pitched into the sixth inning in a 4-3 win at Coors Field.
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The 26-year-old Duggar, who has gone 2-for-15 this season and hit a two-run double on Tuesday, was unlikely to start against Dodgers left-handers Julio Urías and Clayton Kershaw this weekend in Los Angeles.
“Dug has done really good work in the outfield on defense,” Kapler said. “We’ve seen some progress with his at-bats; they’ve gotten better. I know he felt especially confident at the plate. It’s a difficult discussion just because he’s been feeling really good.”
Thursday’s moves left the Giants with 14 position players and 14 pitchers on their active roster.
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Notes from the alternate training site
• Right-hander Trevor Cahill (fingernail issue) is scheduled to throw three innings in a simulated game on Friday.
• Kapler said 2020 first-round Draft pick Patrick Bailey hit his first home run out to right-center field on Tuesday. Bailey, a switch-hitter, was believed to be batting from the left side.
“It was a long one, so people were pretty excited about that,” Kapler said.
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• 10 things to know about Patrick Bailey
• Kapler also highlighted the work of right-handed pitching prospect Camilo Doval, who was a surprise addition to the Giants’ player pool last month.
“He’s working really hard, and the velocity has started to improve,” Kapler said. “He’s in great shape. Some of that can be tracked to the mentorship of Carlos Navas, who also had a nice secondary camp for us.”