San Francisco Giants Reportedly Looking for Ways to Give Star Pitcher 'A Break'

The San Francisco Giants could be without another starting pitcher soon, but this time it sounds like it could be from their own doing.

Jun 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jordan Hicks (12) sits in the dugout during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

It's no secret to anyone that this San Francisco Giants team has suffered injuries that have played a major factor in how disappointing this season has been so far.

Star player after star player, contributor after contributor seemingly leave the roster whenever some bit of continutity is starting to form.

That makes it hard for any team to perform well, especially when it involves the starting pitching staff.

However, it sounds like the Giants are about to get a batch of good news soon as three of their veteran contributors, Blake Snell being one of them, have made their way to Triple-A during their rehab assignments as they inch closer to their Major League returns.

This would be a huge boost for this team as Keaton Winn just hit the injured list alongside star outfielder Mike Yastrzemski.

San Francisco certainly needs Snell back, and back soon, as there is some concern surrounding how many innings their high-profile signing Jordan Hicks has thrown since being converted to a starter from a reliever role.

On Saturday, Hicks surpassed the most innings he's ever thrown in a season, toppling the previous mark of 77.2 during his rookie year in 2018 with the 80.2 he has already at in this campaign.

This was always a possibility, and based on how well he was throwing, a certainty at some point.

However, the question becomes what the Giants are going to do with him going forward?

According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, they "want to find a way to give him a break at some point."

That might sound nice, but there are three open spots in their rotation with Snell and Winn on the injured list. It doesn't seem like San Francisco wants to call up some of their Triple-A arms, but they will have to if they are going to give Hicks some time off.

What that looks like is unknown, as well.

Maybe he still goes out there and operates like an opener so he continues to face Major League hitters but doesn't keep wracking up frames on his arm.

Or maybe, he actually gets time off and doesn't pitch for a month or two.

Whatever the decision is made will almost certainly stem from how quickly Snell is able to recover and get back into this rotation.