LOS ANGELES–Hunter Strickland is the longest-tenured member of the San Francisco Giants’ bullpen.

Now, he owns the most important role.

After the Giants placed closer Mark Melancon on the disabled list Thursday with a right elbow flexor strain, Strickland will take Melancon’s place until he returns.

Manager Bruce Bochy said prior to the Giants’ Opening Day clash with the Dodgers that he’s hopeful Melancon will return to action within the next few weeks, but Melancon said he’s experienced discomfort throughout the spring and can’t throw on flat ground for a distance greater than 30 feet without feeling pain.

Strickland made eight scoreless appearances this spring and debuted a retooled slider that he honed with Hall of Famer John Smoltz this offseason. Over 7.1 innings this spring, the fifth-year reliever allowed just one hit while striking out eight batters.

“Hunter Strickland will be the closer today and will be our closer until we get Mark back,” Bochy said. “Now with that said, if he needs some help, we’ve got some guys that can help out. We’re going to try to keep these roles as defined as we can.”

Set-up man Sam Dyson replaced Melancon last season when the Giants’ closer was sidelined due to a pronator injury that required September surgery, but after a rocky spring, Bochy said he wants to see more consistency from Dyson before using him in high-leverage situations.

Over four Major League seasons, Strickland has compiled a career 2.64 earned run average and recorded five career saves. He saved one game last season, but picked up three in 2016.

“We could use him in the eighth to help get an out there and in the ninth,” Bochy said.

With Strickland set to close games, free agent signee Tony Watson, fellow left-hander Josh Osich and righty Cory Gearrin will all have opportunities to throw in the seventh and eighth innings. If his first outings go as planned, Dyson could join that crew as well.

Bochy said Pierce Johnson and Roberto Gomez will serve as long relievers at the start of the year, while Reyes Moronta will be counted on to clean things up in the middle innings.

Bruce Bochy names Hunter Strickland the #SFGiants closer pic.twitter.com/XcJT8hSBFL — Kerry Crowley (@KO_Crowley) March 29, 2018

Melancon arm trouble lingering

Melancon, 33, missed three separate chunks of the 2017 season with a pronator injury that ultimately forced him to undergo surgery in September. He pitched with pain for much of the year, but was not expected to risk greater injury by continuing to throw.

The surgery to relieve compression in Melancon’s pronator was performed in September by Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles, and Melancon said he plans to see Dr. Shin while the Giants are in the area this weekend.

“It’s just been a long year,” Melancon said. “A long calendar year. Thinking that I would be having plenty of time to get back to Opening Day and then not being available today is rough.”

Throughout the offseason, the Giants were optimistic Melancon would be available by Opening Day. While he never felt quite right during spring training, the closer said he didn’t experience any major setbacks until he pitched on back-to-back days for the first time last week.

After that outing, Melancon’s pain lingered and he underwent an MRI. The results revealed Melancon had inflammation in his right elbow flexor, which is located near his pronator.

With injuries to Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija already leaving the Giants’ starting staff short-handed, Bochy said Melancon’s injury came as another unpleasant surprise.

“I didn’t know he would be touch and go, I was pretty confident that he would be ready when the season started,” Bochy said. “He had a little setback after that one outing, so we don’t want to risk putting him out there after not throwing for four to five days.”

Regardless of how the Giants try to frame Melancon’s injury, the health of his pitching arm is now a concern that threatens to linger well into the future.

After Melancon signed a four-year, $62 million contract prior to the 2017 season, he arrived at his first Giants’ camp and experienced discomfort that never dissipated. Melancon’s pronator issue sent him to the disabled list for the first time in his career in May, but after appearing in 11 more games, he was placed on the disabled list for the second time in as many months.

The Giants’ closer returned to action in August and pitched in a set-up role, but ultimately finished his season early thanks to the September surgery. Few, if any, Major League pitchers have had surgery on their pronator, so there’s not exactly a track record for players returning to form after this specific operation. Related Articles The SF Giants’ bullpen looks ready for the postseason. The rotation remains a major question.

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Melancon hopes that by allowing the inflammation in his elbow to subside, he’ll finally have the opportunity to pitch without discomfort.

“Obviously I’ve put up with a lot of pain for the entire last year and then spring training this year,” Melancon said. “Every outing is painful. It’s not like I’m not putting up with pain. It’s not something I want to sit here doing. I want to be contributing and being out there with my teammates and being in the fire.”

Melancon appeared sharp in most of his outings this spring, snapping off breaking balls with good bite and maintaining confidence in a changeup that he used to miss bats. However, even after his first spring appearance, Melancon expressed uncertainty regarding his health.

“It’s hard to tell the difference sometimes. Is discomfort just part of the process? I don’t know,” Melancon said on March 7. “I believe it is, it’s just part of the process. I don’t view it as a negative thing necessarily. It’s just part of it.”

The Giants will pay Melancon $20 million this season, making him the highest-paid reliever in baseball.