Concussion protocol for Hundley, Aramis Garcia added to taxi squad

Just four days after Giants starting catcher Buster Posey took a foul-tip to the mask that left him light-headed an inning-and-a-half later, reserve catcher Nick Hundley fell victim to his own foul-tip to the mask Tuesday.

After taking Saturday off, Posey passed the concussion protocol and returned to the lineup. But in what manager Bruce Bochy described as essentially a just-in-case move, they’ve placed Double-A catcher Aramis Garcia on the taxi-squad as Hundley goes through the concussion protocol:

“This just gives us coverage. We think [Hundley’s] fine, but we had to have somebody here in case he does not get cleared [by the concussion protocol].”

Bochy said Hundley feels “good” and the back-up backstop was set to be evaluated by team doctors after participating in normal pre-game baseball activities Thursday.

On Deck

The Giants begin a four-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday. The Giants will retire Barry Bonds‘ number, 25, in a ceremony that begins at 5:00 p.m. Saturday. Guests will include the Bonds family, Peter Magowan, Gaylord Perry, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Willie McCovey, Willie Mays, Bobby Bonilla, Ray Durham, Robb Nen, Kirk Rueter, Royce Clayton, Will Clark, Eric Davis, Shawon  Dunston and Jim Leyland (among others). Gates will open at 3:45 p.m. that day.

Notes

Jeff Samardzija (right shoulder) threw a 40-pitch bullpen Thursday and, barring any setback, Bochy said Samardzija will begin a rehab after throwing to hitters next Monday in Los Angeles. … Brandon Belt took batting practice, ran the bases and took grounders Thursday and is still expected to rejoin the lineup early next week.

Julie Parker is SFBay’s San Francisco Giants beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @InsideThePark3r on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Giants baseball.