San Francisco Giants Right-Hander Could Get Second Chance at Big League Level

The San Francisco Giants will expand their roster by two players with September call-ups.

May 11, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Mason Black (47) throws a pitch during the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park. / Bob Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

There isn't much more time to fool around for the San Francisco Giants. This is about as big of a do-or-die situation as they've been in throughout the past few years, so perfection from here on out is needed.

The Giants are currently 3.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot in the National League and will have a massive series against the Seattle Mariners starting on Friday night.

The Mariners fired their head coach on Thursday, so they need to take advantage of this opportunity.

They also have some tough decisions to make with September call-ups. San Francisco can add two players to their roster, going from 26 to 28.

They could use help on both sides of the baseball, but pitching seems to be the main thing. Their pitching hasn't been bad, but they could also use guys who can eat up some innings. 

Unfortunately, the Giants don't have the luxury of resting any of their top arms. Unlike some other teams in Major League Baseball, who've already essentially clinched a playoff spot, San Francisco's pitching staff needs to be ready to go. 

The question now is who'll be called up. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com thinks it could be Mason Black, naming him a "potential impact callup."

"The highest-drafted pitcher ever from Lehigh (third round, 2021), Black relies heavily on a 92-94 mph sinker and a sweeping 82-85 mph slider. He got off to a hot start in Triple-A this year before getting hammered for an 8.79 ERA with San Francisco in May, then struggled after his demotion until he got on a roll in August. He has a 2.91 ERA in four starts this month with an overall mark of 4.59 with 87 strikeouts in 84 1/3 Triple-A innings."

Black had a chance to prove what he could do in a Giants jersey during the beginning of the campaign but struggled mightily on the bump. It didn't come as a surprise, given he's only 24 years old, and it was his first major league stint, but it was disappointing, nonetheless.

He was sent back down to the minor leagues, where he's started to figure it out again.

While calling him up would give San Francisco another arm they could plug in the rotation or the bullpen, his 8.79 ERA and four home runs allowed in 14 1/3 innings pitched do bring some worries.

They don't have time for a bad outing from a youngster, which makes their decisions a lot more difficult than they usually would be at this point of the year.