San Francisco Giants right-hander Sean Hjelle has suffered a right elbow sprain and will be evaluated in two weeks. The 26-year-old was competing for a spot on the club's Opening Day rotation but said he could feel something wasn't right in his throwing arm last week. Hjelle has appeared in each of the last two seasons with the Giants, posting a 6.17 ERA across 54 innings of work in that time. Last season, he posted a 6.52 ERA across 15 appearances, all of which came out of the bullpen. He also made 22 appearances (19 starts) at the Triple-A level but struggled to a 6.00 ERA in his 93 innings of work at that level. Of course, his status for Opening Day is doubtful as he seeks a diagnosis on his elbow.
With San Francisco Giants right-hander Tristan Beck (arm) now facing a potentially lengthy absence due to an aneurysm in his arm, manager Bob Melvin mentioned 26-year-old Sean Hjelle as a candidate to enter the starting rotation for the beginning of the 2024 season with Alex Cobb (hip) and Robbie Ray (elbow) to open the year on the injured list. Maybe the Giants will now get serious about signing lefties Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery. The Giants would prefer to keep Hjelle in a long-relief role, but they may have no choice if Keaton Winn (elbow) also is unable to be ready by Opening Day. While Hjelle should already be a bit stretched out, all 23 of his major-league appearances have come out of the bullpen, and he had a poor 6.52 ERA in 15 outings in San Fran.
Sean Hjelle
• RP
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Giants
