SAN FRANCISCO -- Five days before the trade deadline, Mark Melancon stood in front of a locker at Petco Park and talked glowingly of a bullpen that was starting to look like the strongest group in the NL. Melancon spoke about how every relief pitcher knew his role on a daily basis.
"Sometimes that chemistry thing comes into play," he said. "That plays a big part and I think the front office knows that."
Farhan Zaidi did know all about the chemistry in his bullpen. But he also knew that his best shot at adding good prospects -- like Mauricio Dubon -- was dealing from his strength. The Giants traded four relievers, including their setup man, on deadline day, turning many of their late innings over to Triple-A call-ups.
They expected some issues. What they could not have seen coming was the wave of injuries that followed. Here are the seven guys who primarily made up the bullpen before the deadline, and where they are now:
- Will Smith: Still the closer, but dealing with a back injury
- Sam Dyson: Minnesota Twins
- Tony Watson: Likely out for year with wrist injury
- Reyes Moronta: Out for the year with a shoulder injury
- Mark Melancon: Atlanta Braves
- Trevor Gott: Out for the year with an elbow injury
- Drew Pomeranz: Milwaukee Brewers
The Giants have had six relievers make at least 30 appearances and only Smith and Watson from that group remain on the active roster, which is ironic since those were the two who were probably the most likely to get traded heading into the season. Smith is the only one likely to finish the season on the active roster.
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Asked over the weekend if he could remember a bullpen changing like this one, manager Bruce Bochy immediately shook his head.
"No, oh no. It's been pretty drastic when you look at the change," he said. "We made the trades, but the injuries, no, I can't ever remember a bullpen changing this much."
[RELATED: Giants' Moronta to have surgery; Watson likely out for year]
The Giants weathered the storm for a while, getting some decent contributions from young relievers. But they're starting to feel the full weight of the trades and the injuries. They gave up four runs in the ninth inning of Monday's loss.
Entering the day, the team had been 55-0 when leading after eight innings.
