San Francisco Giants Get Star Pitcher Back from Injured List

The San Francisco Giants will get back one of their injured star pitchers back into the mix after activating him off the IL on Saturday.

Jun 10, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Kyle Harrison (45) throws against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Oracle Park / John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Things have been difficult for the San Francisco Giants' starting rotation this season.

Injuries have continued to be an issue for them throughout the year, forcing some younger, minor league players to step in which put excess innings on their bullpen.

Because of that, it's been hard for this team to find sustained success, but with many of their injured starters slated to return soon or towards the end of the month, the hope is that this unit will finally have some continuity and deliver results for this team.

The first domino has fallen for the Giants.

According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, their young starter Kyle Harrison has been activated off the injured list and will start on Saturday. The left-hander has been out since June 16 with a right ankle sprain.

In other moves, they have called up Kolton Ingram from their Triple-A affiliate after claiming him off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals on July 2. He made five Major League appearances with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023 and struggled mightily, allowing five earned runs over his 5.1 innings pitched.

To make room on their roster, San Francisco optioned Spencer Bivens and David Villar.

Bivens has been a bright spot for the Giants since he was called up on June 16. He has a 2.65 ERA across his seven appearances, including a great start where he allowed only one run on four hits during five innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sending him down will likely raise the eyebrows of fans considering he's been a reliable pitching option for this team whenever he's gotten in the game.

Villar was promoted to San Francisco on June 22 and he only got into six games before this demotion. During that time, he went 5-for-17 with a homer, three extra-base hits and four RBI.

Getting Harrison back in the mix is a good first step for this starting rotation. The 22-year-old was putting together a solid showing before his injury with a 3.96 ERA across his 14 starts.

He'll look to keep that same level of play when he's back on the mound Saturday.