San Francisco Giants Activate Ace, Other Stars Ahead of Blue Jays Series

The San Francisco Giants are getting back some much needed reinforcements after activating some important pieces off the injured list.

May 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

It's time for the San Francisco Giants to make their move now in the National League standings if they are going to be a playoff team this season.

Entering Tuesday's slate, they are 3.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot.

If they are going to turn things around, they need all of their star players to start contributing at the same time and have those who are healthy playing consistent baseball.

While that sounds obvious on the surface, that's been anything but the case for the Giants.

The good news is that as San Francisco reaches this pivotal moment in their year, they are getting back some major reinforcements who should give this roster a huge boost.

#SFGiants Roster Moves:
- IF Wilmer Flores reinstated from the 10-day Injured List.
- IF Thairo Estrada reinstated from the 10-day Injured List.
- LHP Blake Snell returned from his rehab assignment and was reinstated from the 15-day Injured List.
- IF Nick Ahmed designated for…

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 9, 2024

The headliner is that Blake Snell is back with the team after his second stint on the injured list. It's been a frustrating year for the reigning NL Cy Young winner, but after an extended time in the minors, everyone is hoping this is the time he can put together a great stretch for his new team.

There was an expectation that he would be activated on Tuesday after the team listed him as their starting pitcher, but nothing was made official until this announcement.

Joining him on the active roster are infielders Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada.

Both players have struggled at the plate this season and look like completely different versions of themselves following last year's performances.

Flores is slashing .206/.282/.317 with a 75 OPS+ compared to his 137 figure in 2023. Similarly, Estrada is putting up a slash line of .231/.264/.376 with an 85 OPS+ compared to 102 last season.

To make room for these three moves, the Giants also designated Nick Ahmed for assignment and optioned pithcer Kolton Ingram to Triple-A. This also comes on the heels of them trading away veteran outfielder Austin Slater, signaling this team is looking to make some changes after what has taken place so far.

The most important move here is getting Snell back.

He's the only one who can truly be a game-changer, and if they get the elite version of the left-hander, that could allow them to finally turn their season around and make a late charge for the playoffs.