SF Giants activate RHP Ross Stripling, place RHP Luke Jackson on IL

The SF Giants activated veteran righty Ross Stripling and placed Luke Jackson on the injured list prior to Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Marc Delucchi | Jun 25, 2023

SF Giants activate RHP Ross Stripling, place RHP Luke Jackson on IL /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants activated right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling from the injured list on Sunday prior to the team's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. They placed right-handed reliever Luke Jackson on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain in a corresponding move. Jackson left Saturday afternoon's game with lower back tightness after facing just one hitter.

SF Giants starting pitcher Ross Stripling throws a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers. (May 7, 2023) — Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Stripling has been on the injured list since mid-May with a back injury. After inking a two-year, $25 million contract with the Giants this offseason, Stripling's tenure with his new team got off to a rough start. Stripling lost his spot in the rotation after a pair of rough outings and has a 7.24 ERA in nine appearances with 26 strikeouts, 10 walks, and 10 home runs allowed in 32.1 innings pitched.

Stripling and the Giants hoped to use his time on the IL to help him attempt to corral his arsenal and rekindle his previous form. The righty feels like he's made some significant strides over the past two weeks while he's made a trio of rehab outings in the minor leagues. Stripling struck out 10 across 4+ innings of work in an appearance on Friday with the San Jose Giants at Single-A.

Stripling would be pitching on two days' rest if he appeared in Sunday's game. So, it seems like the Giants would prefer to avoid using him if possible. However, their bullpen has been heavily taxed this week, and Jackson's injury likely pushed San Francisco to try and add another arm back to the roster.

The team could have recalled righty Sean Hjelle (preseason #28 prospect), but he has already been optioned three times this season. A new MLB rule requires a player to be placed on waivers if they are optioned more than five times. With Stripling (and Alex Cobb) likely coming off the injured list later this week, the team was likely hesitant to burn one of Hjelle's options.

Similarly to Stripling, Jackson signed a two-year, $11.5 million deal with the Giants this offseason. He did not appear in a game last season after undergoing UCL surgery and returned to the field last month. Jackson has posted a 2.16 ERA with 10 strikeouts and just three walks across 8.1 innings pitched (nine appearances) since he was activated from the injured list.

Published Jun 25, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).