Surrendering four home runs in a single frame sealed Philip Abner's fate for the San Francisco Giants.
The San Francisco Giants felt like they had no choice but to option Philip Abner after his last two appearances.
His one-out appearance on Sept. 19 wasn't the end of the world, but he had allowed four home runs the night prior, so that was the beginning of the end.
Abner's ERA went from 5.09 to 7.23 as he allowed four hits against the Los Angeles Dodgers, all of which were homers.
One night later, he allowed two hits, a walk, and an unearned run as it took him 11 pitches to record one out.
It's not like either of these games were "must-win" for the Giants, far from it, but there's a clear mission to try and get Abner fixed ahead of the 2027 season.
Abner is a -0.4 WAR player with the Giants
After beginning his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants decided to keep Abner in the National League West when they claimed him off waivers.
At this point in the season, manager Tony Vitello was just looking to see what pieces he could build on heading into next season. This bullpen hasn't been great, far from it, but neither has the starting rotation.
Abner sports a 9.64 ERA in his five appearances with the Giants, and that's simply not going to cut it. The 24-year-old is far from polished, and that four-homer outing exposed him in the worst way possible.
In his place, the team is recalling Tristan Beck from Triple-A Sacramento. While it was nice to have Abner, a left-handed pitcher, in the bullpen, he simply isn't the long-term answer this team is looking for, at least not at this stage in his career.
Beck returns to the Giants
Beck, 30, last pitched in the big leagues on Aug. 5. He's allowed one earned run in his last three appearances, but hasn't allowed more than one run in an outing since June 2.
Most importantly, Beck has only allowed two home runs in his 14 innings pitched this season. The California native has been with the Giants since 2023, but this has been a rough year for him, so they're hoping an extended stint in Triple-A was enough to help him get back on track.
Beck's 7.07 ERA in 11 appearances this season is far from ideal, and it's also worth noting he's a -0.2 WAR player, so while he's not too far off from Abner's number with the team this season, Beck at least has a proven track record and they're willing to give him another shot in these final seven games.
