LOS ANGELES — San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy is known as one of the most adept handlers of bullpens. His skills might be tested for a while early this season.
Setup man Sergio Romo went on the disabled list Thursday due to a strained flexor tendon in his throwing elbow. He is not expected to do any throwing for at least 10 days, and he will be re-evaluated at that point.
The 33-year-old veteran referred to the DL stint as “another month of spring training” that will allow his elbow to heal and strengthen.
Romo has been a reliable piece of the Giants’ bullpen, making at least 64 appearances each of the past six seasons and making the All-Star team during a 38-save stint as the team’s closer in 2013.
“We’re in April still,” Romo said. “I know I’ll be healthy.”
Meanwhile, lefty specialist Javier Lopez is off to a slow start.
Lopez has allowed runs in four of his first six appearances this season and five hits to the 10 left-handers he has faced — including a two-run home run to Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Corey Seager on Saturday night.
Seager’s home run was just the third Lopez allowed to a left-handed hitter in 554 at-bats since he joined the Giants in 2010. The others were hit by Pedro Alvarez in 2012 and Freddie Freeman in 2015.
Lopez says poor fastball command is to blame, something he expects to rectify as the season progresses.
“Obviously, I’ve put myself in a hole here,” he said. “I don’t think I’m far off. Obviously, the home run was uncharacteristic. It’s just one of those things where I’m falling behind and not working the sequences I want. It comes back to fastball command.”
The San Francisco bullpen threw two scoreless innings Sunday, but it wasn’t a factor in the Giants’ 3-1 loss to the Dodgers.