Joaquin Arias Called Up, Bereavement List Possible for Huff

The Giants called up Joaquin Arias to the big-league roster, which could be a precursor to placing Aubrey Huff on the bereavement list.

As we pointed out on Tuesday, Aubrey Huff is currently not with the Giants, as a result of a "personal matter" that Bruce Bochy didn't expound on. It's not worth digging into Huff's situation either, as it sounds like he's dealing with some sort of serious family matter. We'll leave it at that.

But, like Bruce Bochy said, there's a job to do when the team gets on the field -- and before -- and as a result, it's possible that the Giants decide to put Huff on the bereavement list. As a possible precursor to that move, the Giants called up infielder Joaquin Arias to Cincinnati on Wednesday.

Per Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, there's an additional option for how the Giants might proceed with Huff, but Bochy didn't elaborate on what that might be. (One guess: just leave him on the roster, although that doesn't make a lot of sense.)

Putting Huff on the seven-day bereavement list would allow the Giants to recall someone from the minor leagues to take his place, and therefore keep better depth on their bench.

"Obviously, he's a big part of this team," Buster Posey said. "We hope everything's all right, but we've got a job to do when we get to the park."

And don't think for a second that Huff's departure isn't legitimate. The first baseman's struggled badly this season and was mortified playing second base over the weekend. However, it's believed that Huff's absence isn't related to the slump.

"Oh yeah," Bochy said when asked if Huff's departure was legitimate.

The team still isn't revealing what that personal matter is and, frankly, they don't have to. If Huff's away dealing with family stuff, he should be given some privacy in while he deals with things that are bigger than the game of baseball.

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