What to expect from Matt Cain in the bullpen

An unhealthy and ineffective Matt Cain in 2016 has made it difficult for the Giants to squander any sort of consistency out of him. But could a move to the bullpen be just what the doctor ordered for Cain and the Giants?

Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced Matt Cain will be activated off of the DL and pitch out of the bullpen, per SFGate. Cain will be replaced by Albert Suarez in the rotation.

Cain will take over the long relief duties for the Giants and has just five innings pitched as a reliever. He hasn’t fared well as a reliever, with a 5.40 ERA and a 55.6 percent left on base percentage. The Giants don’t need him to be a shutdown reliever, however, but they need him to be better than he was this season as a starter.

The bullpen has been pedestrian and the starting rotation will have to pick up the slack to compensate. Adding Cain to the bullpen can’t hurt. He gives the bullpen experience and someone who may be able to get tough outs in critical moments. I’m not counting out Cain. He’s looked encouraging at times, but far too often Cain has been wildly inconsistent.

This is concerning for Giants fans, but a new role to define himself could be just what he needed. He’ll be on a short leash but if he can get things together, he will be a valuable piece for the Giants in the middle innings.

With Derek Law now on the DL they lost a valuable middle reliever and setup man. Cain can be that arm to seal the deal in middle innings. This is an excellent opportunity for him to gain confidence while pitching in his new role.

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Cain is 4-8 with a 5.81 ERA and has given up 16 home runs this season. In order to get into the playoffs, the Giants need some sort of stability from the bullpen. Cain can provide that as they try to figure out the bullpen before the playoffs.

He doesn’t need to be the savior for the Giants, but Cain can still play a pivotal role for the club.