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Could Giants’ Ishikawa be the odd man out?

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Travis Ishikawa celebrating his walk-off homerun to win NLCS Game 5 and take the Giants to the World Series.
Travis Ishikawa celebrating his walk-off homerun to win NLCS Game 5 and take the Giants to the World Series.Beck Diefenbach

Could the player who hit the pennant-clinching home run in 2014 be designated for assignment and taken off the 40-man roster before he plays a single game with the Giants this year?

“Don’t think I haven’t thought about it,” Travis Ishikawa said Tuesday.

The Giants are facing a roster squeeze. They spent their one easy call when Hunter Pence returned, optioning catcher Hector Sanchez to Triple-A Fresno. Now, with decisions looming on Ishikawa and Jake Peavy, the choices get squirmier.

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Ishikawa’s rehab assignment, after a back injury, must end Saturday night by rule. The Giants then have 48 hours to activate him. However, they have plenty of first basemen and outfielders, and only one bench player with options: Matt Duffy, who has proven extremely valuable.

To put Ishikawa on the roster without demoting Duffy, the Giants would have to designate another role player, such as Joaquin Arias or Justin Maxwell. Or, they could designate Ishikawa, hope he clears waivers and ask him to return to Triple-A.

The Giants have not made that call and likely won’t until the last minute. Ishikawa is no babe in the woods. He has a good read of the roster and the possibility that he might not be part of it.

“I try not to think about it,” he said. “I have no control or say in what happens. I’ve tried playing the guessing game and thinking about it, and it’s driven me crazy. I just want to worry about my back being healthy.”

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The Giants would have been forced into this decision long ago if not for a setback in Ishikawa’s recovery. He reinjured his back lifting a suitcase. He said he feels great now and joked, “I’ve been super-squatting suitcases off the ground.”

Peavy’s future: Peavy (back, hip) threw a bullpen session and could make a rehab start with Class A San Jose on Friday night. He spent last week at extended spring camp in Arizona, threw to hitters and declared, “I had a good week. I’m going in the right direction.”

On deck

Wednesday

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vs. Dodgers

7:15 p.m. CSNBA

Anderson (2-1) vs. Lincecum (3-2)

Thursday

vs. Dodgers

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12:45 p.m. CSNBA

Kershaw (2-2) vs.

Bumgarner (4-2)

Friday

at Rockies

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5:10 p.m. CSNBA

Vogelsong (2-2) vs. Kendrick (1-6)

Leading off

Seeking a cure: Wednesday will be the Giants’ 22nd Until There’s a Cure game, meant to raise awareness and money for HIV- and AIDS-related treatment and support.

— Henry Schulman

|Updated

Henry Schulman has covered the San Francisco Giants since 1988, starting with the Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Examiner before moving to the San Francisco Chronicle in 1998. His career has spanned the "Earthquake World Series" in 1989 and the Giants' three World Series championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014. In between, he covered Barry Bonds' controversial career with the Giants, including Bonds ' successful quests for home-run records and his place in baseball's performance-enhancing drugs scandal. Known for his perspective and wit, Henry also appears frequently on radio and television talking Giants, and is a popular follow on Twitter.