The Giants have a fresh face on their pitching staff in rookie lefty Sammy Long. After pitching four innings, and striking out seven batters in his major league debut Wednesday, Long has a chance to carve out a role in the Giants' rotation.
President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi discussed how the organization prepared Long for his role with the big league club, and what that role might entail.
“Yeah, we talked about having [Sammy Long] start," Zaidi told KNBR's "Tolbert, Krueger, And Brooks" on Wednesday. "We talked about using him in the way that he was used today, which was using an opener to get through their top three hitters in the order, let Sammy kind of ease into the game a bit.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"He’s started and relieved and in the minor leagues we kind of kept him in this four-inning, 60-pitch range because we wanted to see how the rest of our pitching staff kind of evolved in terms of needs. Were we going to shorten him up and use him as a multi-inning reliever? Were we going to need him in a starting role?"
RELATED: Giants-Nats rained out, will play split doubleheader Saturday
Long's debut was not a traditional one, as he entered the game in the second inning with the Giants deciding to use righty Zack Littell as an opener and have Long follow.
The Giants plan on easing Long into the mix, and will likely increase his workload next time out.
San Francisco Giants
"That was why he was a little bit limited today, but certainly, this is a stepping stone for him to stay in our rotation, and maybe he can get lengthened out a little bit more next time,” Zaidi said.
Long's next appearance, whether as a starter or a reliever following an opener, could come against the Arizona Diamondbacks early next week.