As Matt Cain prepares for a bullpen session on Tuesday, the San Francisco Giants are still unsure when he'll return. The right-hander said he's still feeling some pain in his right elbow after his 30-pitch bullpen session on Friday.
Cain has yet to throw a pitch this MLB season. He underwent surgery late last in 2014 to remove bone chips and spurs from his throwing elbow, but then began to experience forearm tightness during spring training. The 30-year-old was soon diagnosed with a right flexor tendon strain in early April.
In mid-May it's still not looking too great.
"Cain isn't close to returning to the Giants' rotation - he hasn't thrown breaking pitches and won't face hitters anytime soon - and might not be activated until July. The Giants aren't providing a timetable," writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Giants have been missing Cain and Jake Peavy for just about the entire season and both are not on the fast track to return. Fortunately for San Francisco, they've unexpectedly received good campaigns from starters Chris Heston and Tim Lincecum, but they won't be able to rely on such performances for the entirety of 2015.
Is senior vice president Brian Sabean contemplating trade scenarios for a starting pitcher before the deadline? After all, the Giants were in on Jon Lester during the offseason and had previous interest in acquiring Cole Hamels from the Philadelphia Phillies.
There are a number of names that could be made available for a trade in the coming weeks, including Oakland Athletics starter Scott Kazmir. The rumors have already begun.
"You've probably got a half dozen teams that are contenders or those that want to be contenders that would absolutely be interested in Kazmir, or just more generally, are in the market for a starting pitcher," ESPN Insider Keith Law said last week on the Baseball Tonight Podcast. "I think the [San Francisco] Giants are going to absolutely need to add a starter if they want to hang in this."
Kazmir is just one option, however, he's likely one of the more cost-effective ones. Other names that could be subject to trades include Hamels, David Price, Johnny Cueto, Jordan Zimmermann, Zack Greinke, Jeff Samardzija, Doug Fister, Ian Kennedy, Aaron Harang and others.
Whatever the case, the Giants are going to need an upgrade because they cannot rely on their current cast of starters to last the entire season and they also can't bank on Cain and Peavy maintaining their health once they return from the disabled list.
The trade market should become more transparent in the coming weeks because bigger trades typically don't begin to be discussed until June. In the meantime, listen for the latest rumors surrounding some of the top starters who will hit free agency after this season.
