SF Giants notes: Blake Snell to make start Sunday, Austin Slater’s elbow clouds his status

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Signing a week before Opening Day, Blake Snell isn’t expected to start for the San Francisco Giants until at least their second series of the season. But each day, the club gets a better idea of when they will be able to slot the reigning National League Cy Young winner into their rotation.

When the team departs for their three exhibitions in Northern California, Snell will stay back in Arizona.

After a bullpen session of about 30 pitches went well Thursday, Snell is scheduled to pitch in an intrasquad game Sunday, manager Bob Melvin said.

“We sat down with him today,” Melvin said. “The next step is going to be pitching in the camp game.”

Melvin didn’t share any additional details, but the camp game will be the most live action Snell has faced since last season. He has been facing hitters at a training site arranged by his agent, Scott Boras, throwing up to 65 pitches over four innings his final session before signing, but it’s impossible to replicate live game reps.

The manager did name the pitchers the Giants will line up in their first three games against the Padres.

Logan Webb, of course, will get the nod Thursday for Opening Day, followed by Kyle Harrison, and then Jordan Hicks. They could face a San Diego rotation of Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and Dylan Cease.

Slater suffers setback

The group of outfielders that breaks camp with the Giants could look different than was expected as recently as this week.

Luis Matos, who’s been one of the team’s top hitters this spring, has a newfound path to the roster after Austin Slater’s name reappeared on the injury report Friday morning. Slater was listed as day-to-day with a sore elbow, the team said, a setback in his recovery from offseason surgery.

“We’re getting close to where it would be tough to start (the season) with him if he’s not gotten some consistent at-bats in some games,” Melvin said. “He’s going to test it out a little bit more today and we’ll see where we go from there.”

Slater, 31, has taken only 12 at-bats this spring, with two hits, three walks and nine strikeouts, and played only two games in the field. He was in the lineup at designated hitter Friday, but Melvin said that he will need to be cleared to play the field in order to make the roster out of camp.

The 23-year-old Matos, meanwhile, has put the 10-15 pounds of muscle he put on over the offseason to use this spring, with a team-leading four home runs, six doubles and a .292/.346/.667 batting line in 19 Cactus League games.

“He’s done everything,” Melvin said. “It just depends on the Slater situation.”