San Francisco recalled both RHP Manny Aybar and LHP Chad Zerbe on Monday morning. Aybar is up because the Giants are headed into Colorado and want another long reliever. After San Francisco non-tendered him during the off-season, Aybar signed a minor league deal with Arizona. However, he did not accept a minor league assignment with the Diamondbacks. In his second shot at free agency, he chose to re-sign with the Giants. Aybar likely will only remain in the majors for a short time, as San Francisco will no longer want to carry twelve pitchers after they leave Colorado, but we can expect him to bounce up and down during the season when the Giants want to refresh the pen.

Zerbe's trip to the minors was short, lasting only the required minimum 10 days. Nevertheless, he was able to work regularly at AAA, which was one of the Giants goals for him, since he had only appeared in 8 games over the first six weeks of the season. The club hopes that the consistent work allowed him to shake off the rust. He'll remain in the majors as the club wants two lefty relievers on the staff, and they'll probably even try to use him a bit more frequently to keep him fresh.

The Giants sent down RHP Ryan Jensen and OF-R Jason Ellison to open the necessary roster spots. San Francisco would prefer Jensen work as a starter at AAA rather than atrophy in the major league pen. There is also some concern that he's not fully rebounded from his injury, so he may return as a long reliever later in the season after he's re-established his rhythm at AAA. I believe this move will work well for both Jensen and the Giants.

Ellison wasn't receiving consistent playing time in the majors, so the Giants would rather he remain at AAA until they have a larger role for him. OF-L Marvin Benard is expected to rejoin the team shortly after their trip to Colorado when the Giants cut down to an 11-man pitching staff. Benard's recovery from knee surgery is progressing remarkably smoothly.