⏩ Giants Beat: Recovering from COVID, starting pitcher Alex Wood could pitch soon.
DENVER — Alex Wood has recovered enough from COVID-19 that the left-hander might get in some work on the mound this weekend in San Francisco while the Giants are in Chicago.
“He’s doing better, he’s turning the corner,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “The chills are going and he’s just feeling kind of listless. Not a lot of energy there.”
Wood, who has been described as “very sick” for the past week, has chosen not to reveal his vaccination status, according to Kapler. Donovan Solano, who had to quarantine in New York for more than a week after contracting a case of breakthrough COVID, is vaccinated.
Under medical privacy laws, players must provide the OK for teams to disclose their vaccination status. Major League Baseball is not requiring players to get the COVID vaccination, but is strongly encouraging them to do so, and the Giants were among the first teams to reach the 85% vaccination threshold, which loosened up some testing and mask requirements. With Solano’s breakthrough case and Wood’s illness, the Giants are using masks more frequently indoors and on the team plane.
With Wood on the COVID-IL and Johnny Cueto on the injured list with an elbow strain, the Giants have been using bullpen games to cover the two vacated spots in the rotation. Wood is more likely to return first, but there is no timeframe; Cueto has not been scheduled to resume throwing, and with 23 games remaining, it’s possible he might not pitch again this season.
The Giants are near the end of a stretch of playing on 16 consecutive days. They will enjoy a day off Thursday at Chicago, so the team might keep Kevin Gausman and/or Logan Webb on turn and push up their starts a day.
One benefit to moving up Gausman but giving Webb the additional day would be to split up the bullpen starts, which were back-to-back against the Dodgers last weekend.
The team will have to see how Gausman and Webb are feeling after the off-day, but “everything is in play,” Kapler said.
The Giants have two more off-days this month, but at some point, they also will have to start considering options for a potential playoff rotation. Webb and Gausman clearly would be the top two starters, probably in that order, given how well Webb has pitched in his past 15 outings, including his seven-inning stint Tuesday at Colorado.
San Francisco will need a bullpen game Friday at Wrigley Field, but if the next bullpen game after that is Sunday, Scott Kazmir looks like an option to start or to pitch as the bulkinnings reliever that final game in Chicago. The lefty threw 71 pitches, including 52 strikes, in six innings while allowing four hits, two runs and no walks with six strikeouts Tuesday for Triple-A Sacramento.
Briefly: The Giants claimed right-hander Jake Jewell from the Dodgers and optioned the reliever to Sacramento . ... Tyler Chatwood, designated for assignment Aug. 29, remains in the organization because he went on the COVID IL onFriday before his status was determined.