Giants claim Whitcomb off waivers

Mayer, out since late June with a stress reaction in his forearm, is 5-for-14 with a homer in three games since joining the River Cats. They might wait a few more days, but the Giants will likely activate him this week and install him as their starting second baseman.

Kuhnel, out since July 4 with a shoulder impingement, gave up two runs in his first rehab appearance on Aug. 2, but he’s pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings since. It seems like he’s ready to be activated if the Brewers want him back.

Frelick, on the IL with a shoulder strain, is 5-for-22 with a homer and five walks since joining Nashville. He could come off the IL and replace Brandon Lockridge on the Brewers’ roster on Tuesday, but given the way he performed before landing on the IL, there’s no need for the team to make him a lineup fixture right away.

Miller struck out three and averaged 97.3 mph with his fastball in his third minor league appearance. The Dodgers will eventually need to activate him from the injured list and likely will option him to Triple-A when it happens, but perhaps he’ll see some bullpen time in September.

The left-handed-hitting Clifford, who previously projected as a solid platoon guy as a first baseman or corner outfielder, has been one of the biggest disappointments in the minors while hitting .175/.267/.344 with a whopping 164 strikeouts in 431 plate appearances for Syracuse. He has too much power to be given up on at age 23, but it’s going to be tough for the Mets to justify adding him to their 40-man roster this winter.

Urías, on the IL since early May with an elbow injury, is 6-for-31 with two homers and a 13/2 K/BB in 11 games since resuming a rehab assignment with Memphis. Perhaps the Cardinals will activate him soon in place of Blaze Jordan or Bryan Torres, but releasing him could also be on the table. The 32-year-old Urías is a nice utilityman in theory, but after missing so much time, he doesn’t seem poised to help much this year.

Palencia topped out at 100.0 mph in his fifth rehab appearance as he makes his way back from a flexor strain. He should come off the IL this week, though since Jacob Webb is performing very well, he probably won’t go back to closing right away.

Jansen, on a rehab assignment from a forearm strain, is 5-for-15 in five games for Round Rock. He caught back-to-back games the last two days, so it seems quite possible he’ll be activated Tuesday.

Salas is hitting .377/.453/.698 with three homers and 20 RBI in 14 games since moving up to El Paso at the end of last month. It’s hard to imagine the Padres introducing him to the majors in the middle of a pennant race, but he’s back looking very much like one of the game’s best prospects.

Basallo, who is on the IL with shoulder inflammation, caught most of the game before exiting late. He seems likely to be back with the Orioles by Friday at the latest.