San Francisco Giants: Latest updates on Tyler Beede’s injury

The San Francisco Giants were dealt a significant blow when it was announced that young pitcher Tyler Beede had injured his elbow. What’s the latest news on his injury?

The San Francisco Giants already had very little reason for optimism in 2020. And after the latest injury news regarding young starting pitcher Tyler Beede, the positivity levels just took another major hit.

Beede was expected to be one of the many young pitchers vying for the 5th starter role in the rotation. And by all accounts, he was likely the favorite.

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The 26-year-old made 22 starts with the Giants last season and while he struggled at points, there was considerable optimism that he could become a long-term fixture in the team’s rotation.

Unfortunately, his latest injury puts a damper on things.

Beede felt tightness in his right elbow during Tuesday’s spring training game against the Texas Rangers and was subsequently renovated after only one inning of work. An MRI was scheduled for the next night and it was revealed that Beede had flexor strain and UCL sprain in his right elbow.

Anytime the UCL is involved, things immediately get dicey. Fortunately, Beede was told that “three-quarters of the ligament looks “totally fine.” That’s at least encouraging, but the young right-hander is scheduled to receive a second opinion later in the week.

Either way, Beede is going to miss time — perhaps a few months.

The injury is similar in nature to the diagnosis that Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow received last season. Glasnow was originally only slated to miss 4-6 weeks but a setback caused him to miss four months of action.

As a result, the Giants will understatedly be very cautious with Beede going forward.

While a timetable has not been set, the 2014 first-round pick will not be ready for Opening Day and could be looking at a multi-month absence. That means that other players such as Logan Webb, Andrew Suarez, or Shaun Anderson might have to step up while he’s recovering.

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Or if the Giants would rather go the veteran route, the likes of Trevor Cahill and Tyson Ross could also compete for the final spot.

Regardless, an injury like this is disheartening for a number of reasons. Beede has worked hard in the offseason to take his game to the next level. His fastball was all the way up to 98 mph and the new coaching staff attempted to emphasize his off-speed pitchers more.

Unfortunately, we will have to wait to see any progress that was made.

In what is expected to be another rebuilding season, the development of players like Beede remains one of the only things that Giants fans have to look forward to. But with Beede potentially out long-term, the focus will shift to other young players trying to find a role on the team.

Hopefully the second opinion is a positive one and Tyler Beede could return to action before long.

But in the meantime, this is certainly not the way that the Giants wanted to kick off their season.