San Francisco Giants Shut Down Starting Pitcher After Latest Setback

It sounds like the San Francisco Giants are going to be without one of their starters after they had to shut him down after his latest setback.

Apr 22, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Keaton Winn (67) heads to the bench after being relived during the seventh inning against the New York Mets at Oracle Park / Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants are in an interesting spot with just over a week remaining before the trade deadline.

Entering Monday's contest four games under .500 but just three back of the final Wild Card spot, the front office will have to make a tough decision about what to do regarding some of their movable assets when jobs are potentially on the line if they don't make the playoffs.

Despite underperforming all season, there is optimism that the Giants can turn things around in the second half because of how many impact players they will be getting back into the mix.

The return of Robbie Ray on July 24 is the first step as San Francisco will now have two past Cy Young winners in their rotation to pair alongside Logan Webb, especially with Blake Snell looking much more like the elite pitcher who has dominated opposing lineups when healthy.

But amid the excitement surrounding Ray's franchise debut, the Giants were also dealt some tough news.

According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, they are now shutting down Keaton Winn after he experienced some discomfort in his elbow over the weekend as he was attempting to work his way back from elbow inflammation that put him on the 15-day injured list back on June 22.

With this, there is a good chance he won't return until late in the season, if at all.

The 26-year-old was viewed as a potential impact starter for San Francisco this season after he posted an ERA of 4.86 across his nine games and five starts during his first Major League action in 2023.

That has not been the case, though.

Winn's ERA ballooned like crazy in May when he had three outings before being placed on the IL for the first time. When he came back from his forearm strain in June, he started three more games until his second injured list stint was needed.

The Giants will continue to monitor how he is recovering, but with his progression getting shut down, it could be a while before he's back on an MLB mound.