SF Giants place outfielder Austin Slater on injured list, recall reliever Yunior Marte

The SF Giants placed Austin Slater on the injured list and recalled reliever Yunior Marte prior to their game against the Dodgers on Monday.

The SF Giants placed outfielder Austin Slater on the 10-day injured list and recalled right-handed pitcher Yunior Marte from Triple-A Sacramento on Monday. Marte immediately contributed, completing 1.1 innings in San Francisco's 7-4 victory over the Dodgers.

Slater had been out of the lineup over the weekend after jamming his finger diving headfirst into second base on August 30th against the Padres. The Giants were hopeful that Slater's finger could recover after a few days of rest. However, it clearly did not respond as well as the team's trainers had hoped.

Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters on Monday that Slater has dislocated his left pinky finger and suffered "a sprain near the joke." Kapler went on to say that the team is prepared to be without him for "at least 10 days, and maybe a few days after that." While Slater was able to play as a defensive replacement over the weekend, Kapler acknowledged that he is able to do everything but grip strong enough to hit.

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The Giants signed Marte as a minor-league free agent prior to the 2021 season. While he never received a big-league callup last year, he was one of the best relievers in the Sacramento River Cats bullpen. To prevent him from returning to free agency last winter, the Giants added him to their 40-man roster.

This season, Marte has split his time between Triple-A and San Francisco. In 25 appearances in the minors, Marte has a 3.16 ERA with 35 strikeouts and nine walks in 25.2 innings pitched (25 appearances). Marte has made 28 appearances with the Giants this season and recorded 31 strikeouts and 14 walks in 35 innings pitched with a 6.17 ERA.

The SF Giants will have to replace Alex Wood in the rotation after he was placed on the injured list earlier this week. While minor leaguer Tristan Beck seems like a candidate to replace him, San Francisco appears to be leaning towards a bullpen game on Tuesday. Adding an arm like Marte should make that easier.