The Giants shuffled their roster a bit before opening the second half, and the fine print came with some disappointing news for a key infielder.
Right-hander Logan Webb was recalled from Triple-A to start in place of Kevin Gausman, who was placed on the family medical emergency list. The Giants also activated outfielder Mike Tauchman and purchased the contract of reliever Jay Jackson.
Jason Vosler was optioned to Triple-A to clear one spot, with the other having been opened up Sunday when Joey Bart was optioned back to the minors.
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To open a 40-man spot for Jackson, the Giants moved Evan Longoria to the 60-day IL, which means he won't be back from a shoulder sprain until August 5, at the earliest. The Giants had initially hoped to get Longoria back in four to six weeks, but they acknowledged at the time of the injury that it was an unusual one for baseball and the rehab could be unpredictable. Longoria has been doing light baseball work in recent days.
Longoria isn't the only one working back slower than hoped. Tommy La Stella had to halt his rehab assignment for the second time because he felt soreness in his thumb, but the Giants are hopeful La Stella can return to Triple-A next week to get at-bats. Brandon Belt also remains on the IL, along with Buster Posey, who was cleared to play catch and take swings over the break but isn't quite ready to return.
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San Francisco Giants
The moves added one familiar arm and one new one for the series in St. Louis. Webb was sharp in his return to the big leagues last Friday but the Giants optioned him to the minors to let him get stretched out, something that didn't end up happening. Jackson is a veteran who was added over the offseason but was injured at the start of the year.
He had been lighting it up in Triple-A, throwing 11 scoreless innings with 18 strikeouts for the River Cats. Jackson last pitched in the big leagues in 2019 with the Milwaukee Brewers.