San Francisco Giants: Suspensions Handed Out, Another Roster Move Made
In the wake of Monday’s brawl, MLB has handed down suspensions to the San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals, and the Giants made a roster move.
Suspensions for Monday’s melee on the mound have been handed down. San Francisco Giants’ relief pitcher Hunter Strickland has been hit with a six-game sentence, while Washington Nationals’ right field Bryce Harper was given four games. Both players are appealing their sentences, so they will be available for, presumably, the rest of this series until their appeals are heard.
On the bright side, it seems that those were the only two suspensions given. While other players will certainly be hit with fines, they won’t have to miss on-field time. Hunter Pence was one playing facing a suspension, as non-active players (for example, players on the 10-day disabled list because of a hamstring strain) aren’t allowed on field during games. Pence was right in the middle of the action on Monday, as he was one of the players forcibly pulling Strickland from the field. It seems that those giving out suspensions took context into mind when deciding whether or not to suspend others.
Though Strickland is still available as the series with the Nationals rolls on, the Giants made another roster move. The team officially recalled Orlando Calixte from Triple-A Sacramento and optioned Mac Williamson back to Sacramento. Calixte was in San Francisco on Monday before the series opener, because the team was unsure if Eduardo Nunez would need to go on the disabled list or not, but Nunez wasn’t shelved so Calixte wasn’t activated before Monday’s game.
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Calixte is now officially a major leaguer again. He was called up twice in 2015 while with the Kansas City Royals, but appeared in just two games as a pinch runner on April 19th (he would stay in that game at shortstop) and as a pinch hitter on May 6th. In three at-bats, he went hitless but scored one run.
The Giants signed Calixte to a minor league deal this past offseason, and added him to the 40-man roster because he was eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. The 25-year-old was optioned to Triple-A after Spring Training, and was having a nice year with the Sacramento River Cats. In 41 games, Calixte owned a .287/.331/.507 slash-line with 26 RBI, and was leading the team with eight home runs and 11 stolen bases.
Calixte was having a great month of May before being brought up, hitting .324/.367/.608 with four doubles, five home runs, and seven stolen bases in 19 games. He’s shown plenty of versatility with Sacramento, having played second base, third base, shortstop, and the outfield.
Calixte is in Tuesday’s lineup, and will be making his first career start in the major leagues. He is leading off and playing left field, making him the eighth different leadoff hitter and ninth different starting left fielder this season (joining an illustrious group that includes Jarrett Parker, Chris Marrero, Justin Ruggiano, Gorkys Hernandez, and Aaron Hill). If he collects a hit, it will be his first in the major leagues.
To make room for Calixte on the active roster, Williamson has been optioned back to Triple-A after getting pretty limited playing time following his recall. He played 10 games and hit .161/.235/.258 in 34 plate appearances while striking out 12 times. Even with the Giants’ outfield being held together by duct tape and bubble gum, Williamson still couldn’t find regular playing time.
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Good luck to Calixte!