Giants rotation candidate Beede to undergo Tommy John surgery

The 2020 season was supposed to be Tyler Beede’s breakout year.

In a span of two weeks, Beede was diagnosed with an elbow injury and MLB’s opening day was pushed back indefinitely.

The Giants are still holding out hope they’ll take the field this year, but Beede can no longer do the same. After being diagnosed with a right flexor strain and UCL sprain during spring training, the right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery on Friday in Texas.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said the team consulted with a handful of doctors regarding Beede’s injury before a consensus was reached for the 26-year-old to undergo reconstructive surgery. Dr. Keith Meister will perform the operation.

“Rehab continued to be an option, but for somebody at his age, even if he was able to rehab successfully, it might only be a matter of time before he would have symptoms again,” Zaidi said in a conference call with reporters on Thursday.

Beede entered spring training as the front-runner to win the fifth starter job in a rotation that includes veterans Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly. After posting a 5.08 ERA in his first full season as a starter, Beede believed a plan developed with by the Giants coaching staff that called for him to emphasize his curveball and changeup more would finally lead the team’s 2014 first-round draft pick to sustained success.

Now, Beede is headed for a 12-to-16 month rehab process and there’s little clarity as to what can be expected of him when he returns to the mound.

There’s also little clarity regarding when, and if, the MLB season will start. As the spread of the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the sports world and life as we know it, teams are preparing for an extended hiatus and even the most optimistic members of the baseball industry believe a late May or early June Opening Day represents the best-case scenario.

The uncertainty regarding the start of the regular season didn’t stop the Giants from making two roster moves on Thursday as Zaidi said the team has optioned outfielder Steven Duggar and pitcher Shaun Anderson to the minors.

Both players struggled in limited Cactus League opportunities and Zaidi said the organization planned to option the duo because they no longer had a realistic chance of making the team’s opening day roster. The Giants aren’t setting a target for when preseason workouts might resume, but when they do, Duggar and Anderson will work on the minor-league side.

Duggar made adjustments at the plate over the offseason that gave the left-handed hitter a narrower stance and a better chance of driving the ball in the air while Anderson spent the spring working on gaining consistency with his fastball grips.

The decision to option Duggar leaves the Giants with eight outfielders still in contention for a job including non-roster invitees Billy Hamilton, Joey Rickard and Drew Robinson.