With San Francisco Giants right-hander Tristan Beck (arm) now facing a potentially lengthy absence due to an aneurysm in his arm, manager Bob Melvin mentioned 26-year-old Sean Hjelle as a candidate to enter the starting rotation for the beginning of the 2024 season with Alex Cobb (hip) and Robbie Ray (elbow) to open the year on the injured list. Maybe the Giants will now get serious about signing lefties Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery. The Giants would prefer to keep Hjelle in a long-relief role, but they may have no choice if Keaton Winn (elbow) also is unable to be ready by Opening Day. While Hjelle should already be a bit stretched out, all 23 of his major-league appearances have come out of the bullpen, and he had a poor 6.52 ERA in 15 outings in San Fran.