Heston gave up three earned runs on three hits and three walks over 2.1 innings in Wednesday's 12-7 Cactus League loss to the Dodgers.

EDGE Analysis

Heston had come into Wednesday's outing with seven scoreless innings on his spring resume, so his rocky appearance was his first taste of adversity. The 28-year-old gave up home runs to Justin Turner and Trayce Thompson and also handed out his first three free passes of spring in a 61-pitch outing. The struggles don't negate the positive impression Heston made over his first three appearances, but does serve as a blemish on his quest to secure a rotation spot as the potential fifth starter.

Heston gave up just two hits over three innings in Friday's 11-10 Cactus League loss to the Cubs. He struck out two and walked none.

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander is making an excellent case for the fifth starter role, as he's now fired seven scoreless frames and surrendered just four hits while racking up three strikeouts. Heston has his trademark sinker working again this spring, a key to the success he found in 2015 while with the Giants, which included a no-hitter. "That was the thing that was fighting against me [last year]," Hester said. "My sinker was up in the zone. To be able to get that pitch down and get the ground balls early in counts, that's kind of my whole game plan. So to get that back rolling again is kind of nice."

Heston allowed just one hit over two scoreless innings in Sunday's 13-2 Cactus League win over the Padres.

EDGE Analysis

Heston is still a long shot to make the big league club coming out of spring training, but outings like Sunday's certainly help boost whatever small chance he may have. Although his more likely destination to kick off the 2017 campaign remains Triple-A Tacoma, the Mariners are expected to give him ample opportunity to state his case for a major league spot this spring.

Heston, who arrived in Seattle in a Dec. 7 trade, will draw the start in Sunday's Cactus League tilt versus the Padres, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 28-year-old righty, who is a considerable long shot to carve out a spot in the Mariners' starting rotation, will have an early chance to showcase his wares in starting what will be Seattle's second exhibition game. Heston was limited to just five innings at the big league level with the Giants in 2016 due to a demotion and subsequent oblique injury. His one season of note in San Francisco came in 2015, when he posted a 12-11 record, 3.95 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 141:64 K:BB over 177.2 innings.

Heston (oblique) was traded to the Mariners on Wednesday for a player to be named later, FOX Sports' Jon Morosi reports.

EDGE Analysis

Considering the Giants may have left Heston off the 40-man roster to accommodate Mark Melancon, it is not surprising that it only required a PTBNL for the Mariners to net the 28-year-old righty. Heston may be behind Nate Karns and Ariel Miranda in the pecking order for the fourth and fifth starter spots in Seattle, but he has a better chance of eventually joining that rotation than if he had remained in the Giants' system. He has a career 4.04 FIP, 1.37 WHIP and 148 strikeouts in 188 big league innings, mostly working as a starter. An oblique injury ended his 2016 season, but he should be recovered by the time spring training rolls around.

Heston (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment with High-A San Jose on Tuesday, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reports.

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander has been sidelined for nearly two months due to an oblique injury and Tuesday's rehab start figures to be just one of several. Still, Heston appears to have a good chance to return in September and he could ultimately step into a starting role with the likes of Jake Peavy and Matt Cain (back) failing to get it done at the back end of the rotation.

Heston (oblique) was recalled by the Giants and placed on the 60-day disabled list Wednesday, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Giants recalled Heston in order to clear a roster spot for Ruben Tejada while Joe Panik went on the 7-day concussion disabled list Wednesday. Heston left Sunday's contest with Triple-A Sacramento after just one inning of work, suffering an oblique strain that will cause him to miss two months of action, which could put the rest of his 2016 season in jeopardy.

Heston was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

The Giants are shuffling their bullpen around a bit with a few moves Tuesday, optioning Heston down to Triple-A, placing George Kontos on the disabled list, and recalling Mike Broadway and Steven Okert. Heston had gotten off to a difficult start to the year, recording a 10.80 ERA with six walks and three strikeouts over 5.0 innings of work leading up to his demotion.

Heston made his first relief appearance Thursday, tossing a clean inning and picking up the win over the Dodgers.

EDGE Analysis

Heston was a fantasy revelation last season but is starting the year in long relief. He has more fantasy appeal as a starter than the two veterans in front of him - Jake Peavy and Matt Cain - but will need a spot to open up in the rotation for him to be worth consideration. Given the inconsistency and injury history of the aforementioned starters, there is a decent chance Heston finds a spot in the rotation at some point this season.

Heston filled in for the injured Madison Bumgarner (foot, ribs) on Sunday, tossing four innings of shutout ball while striking out four and walking none in the spring training win over the Padres.

EDGE Analysis

Heston displayed his greatest strengths Sunday, inducing groundballs (7:1 GB/FB ratio) while showing an ability to miss bats. Those are great qualities to have as a pitcher, and usually translate to fantasy-friendly numbers. The issue with Heston is his errant control. His 3.2 BB/9 from last year is a bit too high for a pitcher who also induces a lot of contact. He did show that he could be valuable when he is pitching like he did Sunday, so he could be an interesting speculative add if he finds himself back in the rotation. As of now, both Bumgarner (foot, ribs) and Matt Cain (elbow) are expected to be ready for Opening Day, which would limit Heston to a long relief role.