PHILADELPHIA — Three months since an aneurysm was discovered in his right shoulder, Tristan Beck was cleared to throw a baseball Friday and will begin his progression to return to the mound sometime this season.
The big step for Beck, 27, came after his latest follow-up appointment with Stanford vascular specialist Dr. Jason Lee, and was just one of a number of developments among injured Giants pitchers that the team provided before opening a four-game series against the Phillies.
Beck will start a light throwing program Monday in San Francisco, joining Alex Cobb in throwing off flat ground.
Cobb, 36, played catch Thursday for the first time since experiencing discomfort in his shoulder and is expected to progress to 60-75 feet over the weekend. Neither pitcher can be activated until May 27, though manager Bob Melvin indicated it’s more likely Cobb will be ready by then than Beck.
“Beck’s going to be a while,” Melvin said. “Until he actually gets on a mound, we’re really not sure when that’s going to be yet. It’s tough to forecast when he’s going to be ready.”
The Giants have a better sense of when they can count on Blake Snell, who missed his last start after straining his adductor during a bullpen session. Snell, 31, will throw a three-inning bullpen session Saturday and could progress afterward to a simulated game or a rehab assignment, Melvin said.
“He feels good, so that’s the most important thing,” Melvin said.
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In six times through Snell’s turn in the rotation — three of his starts and three covered by others — the Giants are 0-6 and have been outscored 55-12. They have a seventh to cover Monday in the series finale, and Melvin said “hopefully sometime in May” they will have Snell back in place.
“Maybe the third week,” Melvin said. “It all depends each and every time how he feels.”
Further down the road, Robbie Ray and Austin Warren continue to make progress in their returns from Tommy John surgery.
Both pitchers reached minor milestones in their bullpen sessions this week, throwing all of their pitches for the first time.
Ray, 32, should give the Giants another rotation option sometime around the All-Star break, when Warren could also provide some reinforcements to the bullpen.
