Giants corner infielders Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria will open the season on the injured list, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). They’ll both be eligible for activation after ten days on ice.
Belt, who has dealt with numerous maladies in recent seasons, is still nursing a heel problem. Longoria has an oblique issue. In both cases, the timelines for a full return aren’t yet evident.
With this news, the Giants will be looking to alternatives at both first and third base for a decent chunk of the regular season. Fellow veterans Wilmer Flores, Pablo Sandoval, and Donovan Solano represent the most obvious fill-in candidates. Darin Ruf and Zach Green are other 60-man player pool members with MLB experience in the corner infield.
I don’t know that this makes them any worse. I wish both vets a speedy recovery, though I am ready for them to move on from these two guys.
Sadly, I’m with you on this. Time to move on. Appreciate the things they’ve done in the past. (Belt, more so than Longeria)
Longoria has been a big disappointment…
moves the giants from a 20 win team to a 19 win team.
Epic. Do you think they are going to do that bad? Sheesh. They were playing super well last season before the trade deadline, but I have to mention that they had another manager. I don’t know how many wins they will have this season.
They are going to be a terrible team, that roster is so bad. I won’t say 20-40 but they will be in contention for the #1 pick in 2021.
A bunch of Giant’s haters had that same wishful thinking last season. I remember predictions of last place, and 100 losses. They were wrong. Maybe wait until they’re actually bad instead of predicting they will be. You won’t look so foolish like some did last season.
I live out here and have watched a lot of 2020 games(spring/intersquad) and they’re pretty bad overall IMO. I will say Bart looks like their best hitter by far, granted the games don’t count. This is the year to give him reg ABs without the pressure of calling a mlb game behind the plate with the NL DH. Just wait the 6 games to save a year. Pence always gives his all as well maybe he and cueto/shark put something together? Or at least make attractive trade bait? Watch them make the playoffs…
Giants also downgraded at manager.
They went 77-85 last year?? Wow they sure showed the haters by only finishing 29 games back. I can assure you no one has irrational hate for the team that has made 1 playoff trip in 5 years. Besides last year they had Bumgarner who is still a quality pitcher, Will Smith one of the best LHR in baseball and Posey. They don’t resemble a major league club at all in 2020. Their rotation, lineup and bullpen are all horrible and filled with players past their time or low ceiling lottery tickets. The only team you can say they are for sure better than is Baltimore and Detroit. And with the Tigers you never know since they have 3 top tier pitching prospects.
haters ? the team is awful. quit being so sensitive. You’d think that After 3 consecutive seasons below .500 , Whiny overly sensitive Giants fans would have grown a pair . Evidently, that’s not the case
They still finished 3rd in the division, so they did not, as predicted finish in the cellar, nor did they approach 100 losses, which was also predicted. They were closer to .500 W/L % than 100 losses.
Yeah, they lost Bumgarner, but they’ve replaced him with Cueto, who had only a few starts at the end of the year. The loss of Posey is mitigated by the fact that 2019 was far below average. In fact his wRC+ of 85 places him at 15% below MLB average. His loss is irrelevant in comparing 2019 with 2020. So other than the loss of Smith they’re very similar to last years team.
Please. There’s nothing worse than arrogant Yankee fans, who actually think they earned, and not bought, the majority of their 27 titles, taking cheap shots, and telling fans of other teams how to behave.
You forgot this isn’t 2016 anymore. Cueto is not a good pitcher. Bumgarner is still a decent starter. Posey may be a terrible singles hitter now but he knows his way around leading a staff. Who is even going to be the Giants starting C this year? If it wasn’t for that hot July stretch they very well would have been close to 100 L’s. 85 losses is nothing to brag about. You can’t look at that roster and point to one good part about it. Its a horrifying roster.
Yes. I’m not sure they can win 20 games.
It’s fans like tad2b13 that help perpetuate the idea that Giants fans are Low IQ baseball fans.
Dude. Just stop, This team is terrible. Last years team was terrible. It isn’t 2010 or 2014. It’s 2020 and we suck
Last year, they at least had Bumgarner, Posey, and a mostly healthy Longoria. Their roster is trash this year.
@rings. Seems the Giants have won 3 World Series Championships over the last 10 years. While the Yankees have zero over the last 10 years.
yes. the team overachieved last year and lost its best pieces this offseason. they will certainly be worse.
Yeah!
Why would anyone be offended by being called whiny and overly sensitive and told to grow a pair?
@Tad2b13, I give the yanks credit for 27 WS, however 18 of those came between 1920 and 1960 (40 years) 9 have come 1960 to 2020 (60 years) the majority of yank fans have only been around for 9 or less of them, then only 3 have come in the last 20 years but they sure will brag about all 27 and love to go to other teams sights and talk nonsense.
Kapler seems to have arrived at a gun fight with a knife…
I tend to agree. Before the injuries, I opined SF is probably in the running with BAL for worst record in baseball this year. A lot of role players and guys on the tail end of their career, without being ready to turn the keys over to the kids like Bart. Think they are in for a long rebuild.
I hard to overstate how bad this Giants roster is. Straight Horse manure. And that’s coming from me. And I’m a fan
Yeah, the Giants remind me of how the Reds held on to their aging veterans too long while trying to glue them together with incremental upgrades in desperate attempts to remain competitive before they finally realized they needed to rebuild.
DubsDynasty has said that Bimbo Coles is a greater Point Guard over Mitch Richmond. His talent evaluation, and multiple aliases, are suspect.
Howie415, 1st Dubs is the most fairweather “Giants fan” on here.
Secondly whoever’s said Bimbo Coles was a better PG then Mitch Richmond may be right since Mitch was a SG, and one of the most underrated players of all time.
Do you really think that Frisco team can win 20 games?
Minor Leagues have suspended play. So. Frisco won’t be playing any games this season.
Playing Seattle and Colorado will help San Fran’s chances at 20 games. Betting money on it? I’d say no.
Belt, yes, but Longoria is still one of the (if not THE) best hitters they have, although that’s admittedly not saying a whole lot. Still, this only increases their likeliness of a last place finish.
Eh Longoria is ok but not what he was. Belt though you’re right. Can’t really say anything when my team adds yonder Alonso to the roster
Time for Panda!
Enter Derek Dietrich, Scott Schebler… or maybe Yasiel Puig?
Doubtful Dietrich makes any impact on home games, they should sign strictly as a Chase/Coors reserve.
Blessing in disguise. The only thing that will be missed is Belts defense at 1B, otherwise this opens the door for us to experiment, hopefully Zach Green gets everyday playing time because of this.
I can’t agree. Belt has been solid, better than average for 1B. But he’s been hurt by playing in a park, where lefties, other than Barry Bonds, struggle in. I was hoping to see better productivity from Belt with the new park dimensions. I guess I’ll have to wait and see if the new configuration helps him or not.
Belt sucks . Only homer Frisco fans like Belt.
1. Frisco is a town in Texas or someplace…no one in California calls San Francisco “frisco”.
That’s like calling New York “ork”
2. Although frustratingly inconsistent and oft injured, there’s little denying that if he’d played his career at yankee stadium (or almost anywhere but oracle lark) he’d have way more home runs and thus be far more respected by peons like yourself
Yeah, Well I’m from NY and we say Frisco or even San Fran. Get over it.
Another hyper sensitive stereotypical Giants fan.
@27rings, Since you’re obviously a huge ny fan, why do you feel the need to waste good SF Giants thread space on the nonsense you spew at everyone’s comments? Are you jealous that in the last 10 years Giants fans have been able to enjoy 3 more WS victories than you? The way you talk and your profile name on here says a lot about you, and my guess is you’ve only been around for about 5 of those WS.
So all that said, why as a huge ny fan don’t you head over to the ny articles and get your rocks off over there?
Longoria was still a decent hitter last year. That’s better than most of the guys they have now.
SF. Get ready for Wilmermania. He’s a gamer and couldn’t be more of a fan favorite. We miss him in NY.
The guy can hit and surprisingly doesn’t strike out that much. Too bad he always seems to get banged up.
I know it’s been six years since the last one, but three rings in five years is an incredible run. If I was a Giants fan, I’d count my blessings and support the rebuild with great enthusiasm. You are in good hands with Zaidi. In the meantime, be patient and look for signs of incremental progress.
Good post, Nothing better than hearing a voice of reason. Agree about Zaidi. Incremental progress has been happening already with big improvements in the farm system. We’ll see that translate into wins in the, hopefully, not-too-distant future.
It’s going to be a strong division. Four of the five teams have long-term plans in place. Only the Rockies seem to be lagging behind.
Yeah, I can’t figure out why Bridich still has a job. SD is a real conundrum for me too. Seems like a lot of talent, but something seems off for some reason or other. Really don’t understand why they finished in 5th last season. I know they’re still young, but on paper it seems like they should have done much better than that in 2019.
It’s definitely off in SD. On one hand they’re rebuilding/retooling, but on the other they’ve sunk a TON of money and years into Hosmer and Machado. Yeah, Tatis is arguably a rising superstar, but how many parts of the rebuild have been jettisoned in the past year or so? Reyes, Cimber, Cordero, Margot, etc. And then there’s Myers who they are stuck with for 4 more years. Of course there’s Francisco Mejia who could potentially be a star if they can figure out what to do with him. The Padres operate like a car that permanently has its parking brake engaged. I don’t think Preller is the guy who can get this team to where they need to be.
I’ll walk it back on San Diego. Preller’s big-splash signings have been wasteful, but trades like the ones for Tatis and Paddack are looking good. The jury is out on their top prospects. While the farm system is highly regarded, we haven’t seen much in the way of results. For overall drafting and player development, I’ll take the Dodgers over the Padres by a wide margin. As it is, Preller might get a pass if they don’t make the playoffs during this unusual season. It will be interesting to see whether such a pass benefits the franchise or sets them back. Tough spot since any turnaround will be reliant on young pitchers, including some who haven’t yet reached the MLB level. At some point for Preller, it’s going to be sink or swim. Aside from Tatis and Preller, what has he accomplished?
I don’t understand the accolades thrown in Zaidi’s direction. which metric exactly is there to applaud? someone looking good in the minor leagues? sorry, that doesn’t do it…
Yea, winning 3 world series in 5 years, and making the playoffs a 4th time in 2016 is really really good. Not too many teams can go on a run like that. Having to rebuild is just part of the game, and it’s not like the Giants have done horrible so far. Bart Luciano, and Ramos look really good as do Bishop, and Seth Corry. Zaidi has already made some pretty good trades including basically buying the LA Angels first round pick from 2019, and flipping Pomeranz for Dubon. He’s smart and knows what he’s doing.
Yes, I like bringing in Kapler as well. He took a lot of heat in Philly, but the bottom line is the team had too many holes to win. Some people questioned the Giants going with Kapler, but Zaidi knows him well. From the standpoint of working with young players, Gabe might prove to be a fine choice.
You’re obviously a Bucco’s fan. I Live in No. California now, and I’ve lived here longer than anywhere else, so I am a Giant’s fan. About half my youth growing up was in DC rooting for the Senators, so I do root for the Nats now.
But some of my youth was in places without a major league team, and my favorite player, was Roberto Clemente. (Got to see him play in the 1972 WS.) So I have always been a Pirates fan, and nothing pains me more than seeing them struggle to become relevant. again. As much as I was happy with SF winning the 2014 NL WC, I hated that it had to be against the Pirates. I hope they will be back in contention soon.
‘71 WS
@Cey Hey
I completely agree with your first post. Super Grateful for the first 5 seasons of last decade and very supportive of the rebuild. I am excited about Zaidi (not sure about Kapler…..but time will tell) and think that in 2-3 years, the Gigantes will be back!
Here’s another Gmen fan that agrees ^
I love how the Giants suck. Worst fans ever. They hate the Dodgers more than they love their own team. Enjoy last place losers
Careful, Giants fan will be all over you bragging about their titles from 6, 8 and 10 years ago.
“Worst fans ever.” Just couldn’t resist being snarky huh?
I love how you accuse the Giants of hating the Dodgers in a post dripping with hate for the Giants. Sorry, I don’t hate the Dodgers, though I do enjoy a Giant’s victory over them immensely. I actually respect them a great deal. One for being the team that brought Jackie Robinson to the game, breaking the color barrier. And I really respect that they had only 2 managers for something like 41 years.
On the other hand, beyond the huge amount of hypocrisy in your post, I might point out that your team hasn’t won a WS title since 1988. 31 years of coming up empty. So it’s ironic that any Dodger fan is calling another team losers.
I do have respect for that run. Definitely envious. It’s all part of the rivalry. Just busting chops n having fun. The state of the current world affairs definitely puts sports in perspective
Okay, I buy that. It’s just that your initial post did not sound very much like just having fun. I love the rivalry, I really do miss Tommy Lasorda, and the rivalry is best when both teams are good. Maybe in a couple years we’ll have that again.
Yeah, that didn’t sound like you were just busting chops until you got put in your place with a dose of championship ring reality…
But can we try to work on the generalized name calling of whole groups of people please?
The only reason you’re a loser is because of your own words, I would never call all Dodgers fans anything except what they actually are…fans of the Dodgers, with no animosity regardless of how I feel about their team.
Hate the team, not the fans. Get it?
And if all you want to do is hate the fans, realize that you are a troll, not a baseball fan.
I can’t believe I need to explain this…
But the Giants fans actually show up to a game on time and watch the whole thing with some baseline knowledge of what they are watching, instead of showing up in the 4th, taking a couple selfies so everyone can see how “relevant” they are in society, publicly grooming themselves, texting on their phones “omg I’m so bored”, and then leaving in the 7th so they can beat the traffic home and troll on online boards.
This post is nonsense. Nobody packs their ballpark better than LA
espn.com/mlb/attendance/_/year/2019
Giants attendance is mediocre and declining . Baseball knowledge? Giants fans are notorious for being Low information Low Baseball IQ homers. They live in the past and hero worship mediocre players like Hunter Pence and Matt Duffy .
What weird, easily refutable points you make…
You mean we shouldn’t revere the guys that helped us win 3 rings in 5 years?
Yeah, why would we glorify their achievements? SMH
We should be like the Dodgers and brag about division titles and cy young winners, but shun world championships?
You’re aware that the Giants have the NL record for consecutive sellouts right? You’re so smart, I’m sure you must’ve…it may have declined since our last championship year, but that’s still a decline from 100% attendance, something LA only occasionally sees in the postseason
Hahaha, and low IQ fans? Have you ever been to a game? There is more knowledge and intelligence in the stands than if you filled Dodgers stadium twice over. I see from old ladies to kids recording the box scores all over the place and that’s saying something when distracted by one of the best parks in all of sports
haha Nobody cares about your 3 in 5 banter. Try ‘3 in 3’ if you want to talk about past organizational success . My team did it but you see Yankee fans running around like over sentimental fools yelling 3 in 3 in 2020
That’s right . it’s 2020 any the Giants have become a loser franchise . Three straight below .500 season and they are about to book their 4th
The Dodgers . You couldn’t carry their jock strap . That’s a monster in the NL.
The Giants are 10 years away from being an organization like that.
So, put your ‘3 in 5’ shirt on , your panda hat and your commemorative plastic World Series ring on and GTFO
You’re complaining about giants fans talking about something that happened earlier in the decade, and yet your name flaunts the 27 rings that your team got so long ago? I think that’s normally considered hypocrisy.
Giants won 3 in 5 years, and 3 of the last 10 years. Yankees and dodgers haven’t won anything since the steroid era. Another moron Yankee fan. Tell me again how your failure of a state is a model of success.
Oracle park became a corporate entertainment venue about 10 years ago. The numbers of knowledgeable Giants fans that actually come out to the game and pay attention have been dwindling. in 2018 and 2019 seasons, empty seats appeared and steadily increased. at that rate, without the pandemic, the park might not look much different than it does now…
Agree. Much better when both teams are good. Thank god we get to watch some games
When did the Giants sign Evan Longoria!!?
They traded for him and its been 2.5 years already.
You’re way behind if you just saw the Giants got Longoria.
I’m in a couple of fantasy leagues. The only Giant who was drafted was Kevin Gausman as my last pick. 299 players were drafted ahead of him. The Orioles had zero players drafted. Tough years for the black and orange. 60 game season is to their advantage.
If those pictures of Sandoval were really and not digitally enhanced, I don’t see how he could play 3B. He is enormous! His range wasn’t great to begin with but with an extra 30+ pounds on him, he becomes an immovable object. I’m surprised he made the team.
the Giants ultra-homer announcers Kroop and Kiker maintain he is a better player at 3 bills…
Dreams do come true.