Marco Scutaro and Jeremy Affeldt have spent the first two weeks of the season on the disabled list, leaving the Giants with holes at second base and late-inning relief.
While the team's performance thus far has shown that they can overcome these absences, their respective health will be a boost to the team as the season goes on.
Here is the latest news on Scutaro and Affeldt's progress back to health:
Marco Scutaro: Scutaro is currently in Arizona as he rehabs his back.
Thus far, his rehab has been relatively void of any real news, and it's tough to tell if that's a good thing or not.
Manager Bruce Bochy said last week that the club was hoping to get a set return date for Scutaro by the end of the current home stand. However, that doesn't mean he's any closer to a return.
Even if the Giants know enough on Thursday to give a target date, Scutaro still has a lot of hurdles to go through before he's close to game-ready.
The Giants will continue to platoon between Arias, Adrianza and Hicks through the end of April and perhaps even longer if Scutaro doesn't show signs of improvement soon.
Jeremy Affeldt: Affeldt's rehab assignment from a strained MCL is going smoothly, and he looks just about ready to return to action.
When he does, the Giants will have a tough decision to make.
It's possible the team carries 13 pitchers, but that means only four bench players – and that really cuts down Bochy's options, considering he regularly uses Blanco/Perez for defensive replacements.
There are no pitchers with minor league options, meaning if the Giants go that route, they will lose whoever Affeldt replaces on the 25 man roster.
Either way, Affeldt will return shortly and provide some much needed relief to a bullpen that has been overworked the first two weeks, pitching 40.2 innings in the first 13 games.
He will slot back in to his usual late inning role, providing another left-handed weapon alongside Javier Lopez.
Minors Update:
(Single-A) Christian Arroyo: Last year's first round pick, Arroyo is playing his first full season of professional ball, debuting with Single-A Augusta.
In 40 at bats, the young shortstop is hitting just .200 with five RBI. He has just a 15% strikeout rate though, which is encouraging for a young player.
Growing pains are expected, especially for a player who was facing high school competition this time last year.
Arroyo's main focus this season is learning the speed of the game, making adjustments to facing more advanced pitching, and establishing consistency.
His counting stats will be interesting to track, however they won't represent his progress with some of the intangible aspects of the game.
(Double-A) Kyle Crick: The top prospect in the Giants system, Crick is pitching at Double-A Richmond to begin the season.
Through two starts he is 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA and an impressive 10 K's in just 7.2 innings pitched.
However, his command has been a bit off as he has walked five batters during that time.
Crick's progress this season will be watched closely, especially if the rotation at the major league level continues to struggle.
Expecting Crick to make his debut this season is asking too much, but if the Giants are pressed for pitching options later in the season and Crick's performance is hard to overlook, there's a possibility he will get rushed to the majors to help fill a void.
(Triple-A) Gary Brown: The former first round pick is trying to resurrect his top prospect status after struggling mightily last season, and he is off to a good start so far.
Playing at Fresno, Brown has a .333 average with a home run, six RBI and two steals.
The hot start is encouraging, and something to keep an eye on for sure.
Right now, the Giants don't have room for Brown regardless of his performance, but an injury could change that.
Brown's biggest problem has been consistency, but if he shows he is finally figuring it out, he represents San Francisco's best replacement option in the outfield.
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