4:50pm: Crawford provided a few more details to members of the media, including Slusser (Twitter links). He said his own MRI showed his strain to be worse than he thought but he still expects to return after a minimum stint on the IL. He also says that Yastrzemski’s strain is of the Grade 1 variety, or the least severe.
4:30pm: The Giants announced a few roster moves prior to tonight’s game, with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle among those to relay them on Twitter. Outfielder Cal Stevenson and infielder Brett Wisely were recalled from Triple-A to take the spots of shortstop Brandon Crawford and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, who have both been placed on the 10-day injured list. Crawford’s move, which is retroactive to April 30, is due to a right calf strain whereas Yastrzemski is dealing with a left hamstring strain.
The club hasn’t provided timelines for either player, but these moves will mean the Giants will play at least the next little while without two of their lineup regulars. Crawford, 36, has been the club’s shortstop for over a decade now, having taking over the job back in 2011. He’s long been considered a strong defender and has had seasons where he’s been an above-average performer on both sides of the ball. The most recent of those was 2021, where he hit .298/.373/.522 for a wRC+ of 138. Towards the end of that season, with Crawford headed for the open market, he and the club agreed on a two-year, $32MM extension to keep him around.
Though the Giants eventually won 107 games that year, things haven’t gone as well since, both for the club or for Crawford personally. He hit .231/.308/.344 last year for a wRC+ of 87 while making multiple trips to the injured list, with the Giants eventually finishing 81-81. This year, he’s hitting just .169/.244/.352 for a wRC+ of 63 as the club is out to a rough 11-16 start in the early going. He experienced some calf tightness on Saturday and didn’t play in yesterday’s game.
As for Yastrzemski, he departed yesterday’s game with the hamstring strain and was reported to be undergoing an MRI, so it’s not surprising to see he’ll be taking a bit of a breather here. He had a bit of a down year at the plate in 2022, hitting .214/.305/.392 for a wRC+ of 99, but he he’d been off to a great start here in 2023. His current batting line is .292/.333/.521, which translated to a wRC+ of 131. That strong stretch of play will now but put on hold for an undetermined amount of time.
Taking their place will be Wisely and Stevenson. The former has been up and down for the Giants a few times already this season, but Stevenson will be making his debut with the club whenever he gets into a game. He was acquired from the Athletics a couple of weeks ago but has been kept in Triple-A since then. He made his major league debut with the A’s last year but hit just .167/.261/.217 in 23 games. He has a much nicer batting line of .288/.392/.415 in Triple-A dating back to the start of 2022.
With Crawford sitting out yesterday’s game, the club used Thairo Estrada at short and will likely keep him there for the time being. He’s off to a torrid start this year, hitting .346/.393/.529 while playing a lot of second base. His move should leave the keystone open for someone like David Villar, though he’s sitting on a line of .156/.258/.351 at the moment. A .174 batting average on balls in play suggests positive regression is forthcoming, but they could look to other options. There’s also Wilmer Flores, who has been primarily at the corners this year but has plenty of second base experience in previous seasons. Wisely is primarily an infielder and could be in the mix to help out there, but he also might be needed in center field, helping to cover for Yastrzemski alongside Austin Slater.
Dang!
Athletes have big or well-developed muscles. They need to make sure they stretch out those muscles thoroughly or they’re going to come to bite them.
Since the injury happened in the bottom of the 8th, I’d guess Yaz was already well stretched out.
Giants will miss Yaz, but Crawford should just retire.
You say this as if they have an alternative at short. Crawford is def nearing the end of his career but is still the best option this team has at the position which is severely lacking in depth. Yaz is the less substantial player but he was having a great start to the season so that hurts for sure.
Casey Schmidt is definitely an option.
Yaz is NOT a “less substantial player.” His defense is Gold Glove, he’s hitting for average again (vs. LH & RH pitching) and he hits with power. He is key in the Giants lineup. Crawford no longer is.
Estrada is more than capable.
Estrada is not a bad player, 162 game shortstop I don’t think he’s got that in him at an elite level. Schmidt is an option however it would be a hard pressed one would think considering he had just started taking reps at the position during spring training, and honestly I haven’t looked at River cats box scores much since the beginning of the season so I’m not sure who’s starting in Sacramento. I wasn’t trying to insult yaz by any means I love the guy like Estrada they were really cost effective additions who have proven they have skill to play at this level. Previously acknowledging his good start to the season and the unfortunate events on the turf in Mexico that led to his il stint. I was more or less stating that his overall career was less substantial in reference to how San Francisco tends to cherish those veterans and rightfully so Crawford has been amazing for them.
He is capable. Who plays 2B? Villar? I am not sure Villar is capable. Beyond Villar it gets ugly.
Arguably the greatest SS in franchise history deserves a bit of respect. People who don’t know what it is don’t get that.
Crawford should show the Giants faithful some respect and retire. This is his 2nd injury-filled season of bad play both at the plate and in the field. He is not going to get better. Time for him to get out of the way and let the team fill his position with someone that at least has a chance to provide replacement level performance. The team WON’T DFA him because they are showing him loyalty.
Just some insight, at a high altitude like Mexico City you need to drink much more water. Dehydration leads to muscle strains.
Was thinking the same thing. I’m sure the training staff was aware of it and took precautions, but I can’t help but think that the altitude played a part here.
As was I. They were actually 7200-7300 feet above sea level. That wreaks havoc with your wind, cramping…
Brandon Crawford has around 200 million reasons to look forward to his next contract.
What? If Crawford gets another contract it will most likely be of the minor league variety.
Just an outside observer, curious what’s been the matter with Crawford. His batting line is pretty atrocious…just a factor of age? Playing hurt? Do you think it could be an enthusiasm/morale issue from the team considering Correa over the off-season?? He doesn’t seem the most happiest of campers, but perhaps that’s just his demeanor. Thanks!
I think it’s a little of column A, and the rest from column B. He was really good in 2021, but the well documented nagging injuries in 2022 held the performance down drastically. This season is starting to resemble last year. His age increases his recovery time and limits his ability to play through the injuries. And as time goes on that’s not going to get any better. I don’t think the enthusiasm/morale issue plays any role at all.
Hey I just saw this quote from Mauricio Dubon about his time with the Giants ….wondering if you guys had any insight. Surprised me because I thought Kapler was known to be a “player’s buddy” sorta manager.
From AP (5-1-23)
“” Dubón showed a lot of emotion after reaching second base, screaming and jumping around.
“I was not treated the right way over there,” he said. “So coming here and being a family here and being able to perform the way I’m performing right now, I just think the human side of me comes out.”
Dubón was asked how he was treated by the Giants.
“Just a couple of stuff over there that you think, (I could) probably get more playing time,” he said. “But with Dusty here now … I’m in heaven,” he said. “”
Did Dubon specifically mention Kapler? Otherwise he could have been referring to Zaidi. He never played anywhere close to a full season in any of his 3+ years with SF. The most games he played was 74. He might not have liked being sent down several times and then being traded.
Besides, him saying “the way I’m performing right now”, implies he’s playing better than he is. He has a 107 OPS+. His best season in SF was a league average 100. Maybe that attitude had something to do with him not playing a lot, and him being traded.
Or maybe, as much as I liked the guy, it was because he really didn’t hit much and made quite a few base running blunders. Terrific glove, both in the infield and in center.
Age
It was the AstroTurf in Mexico City for both
That playing surface is an abomination.
Shame on you Manfred and Baseball Owners
Thanks for taking my call. I’ll hang up and listen to your answers.
FARHAN & KAP GOTTA GO! It’s one thing to a have a losing season & another to watch a team that lacks passion when they play. Then you Dubon say “thank God I’m stil not in SF,” & reference how the Astros culture is like a family & he loves Dusty. Under Baker & Bochy SF teams the Giants always played hard & were passionate. The players would run through walls for Dusty & Bochy. Is it any surprise the Astros & Rangers are winning? Farhan failed to bring in a star & I don’t care if he tried. Try harder! I can’t just try at my job, I have to perform. Our bullpen is getting shelled. Shelby Miller has been flat out dominant for LA, wait to let him go Farhan. I don’t like the way Bart has been handled, has he struggled, yes. But what young kid doesn’t. I wonder if Baltimore will let Gunnar go, because he’s struggling (joke). What if Seattle had given up on Kelenic? Joey did everything asked of him & a week before camp they say the Cathing job is wide open & Farhan signed 100 catchers to compete for the job. I think it’s stuff like that Dubon is referring to. Would be nice to have Dubon (who can play anywhere), Gausman (who SF did not even try to resign), & Shelby Miller right now. Would love to hear other Giants fans thoughts. Agree, disagree? I just don’t like the current culture.
Can’t agree. You’re cherry picking players and with this season’s short sample it’s hardly fair. What’s more, the Giants don’t have a Gunnar or even a highly-touted prospect like Kelenic. Is that a failure of the minor league system? Yes, but is that all on Farhan & Kap? No, Farhan started with a completely bankrupt system and there have been injuries.
Judge, by the way, was always going back to the Yankees and Correa, as you know, had medical issues.
Joey strikes out way too much and doesn’t hit for power. I don’t say give up on him, but let’s not pretend he hasn’t had a chance.
I’m disappointed in the team (and they should have resigned Gausman) but Dubon’s comments mean nothing to me b/c he didn’t produce while with SF. And he had plenty of chances.
I agree with you, except that I think it’s still too soon to know whether they should have re-signed Gausman. Admittedly this year it does look like a mistake. But last season he wasn’t exceptional by any means with a 114 ERA+.
After this year the Jays still owe him $68M for the next 3 years, his age 33-35 seasons. It may have been a miss on Zaidi’s part, but it’s understandable to me why he let Gausman go.
Good stuff, appreciate your response. I will however respectively disagree on Bart, I don’t think he’s been given a fair chance. Has he had numerous games to catch at the bigs, yes. But the first season he was called up too early (out of necessity because Buster sat out), then last year yes he was given the opportunity & he struggled early, so they sent him down. He came back up & was a little better, but I felt this year was his year to break out i.e. Kelenic, but a week before camp, they say the Catching position is wide open & they bring in a bunch of catchers to compete. I would’ve been ticked off by that. I just think all that has messed with his psychic. You can make the argument of “that’s sports, toughen up.” I just don’t like the current culture. It looks like the players don’t really care for Kap (totally my opinion I cannot factually back this up). Under Dusty & Bochy SF just had a different energy. And Farhan’s free agent signings have been atrocious. They could’ve offered Judge a contract the players union would not let him pass up. Would they have overpaid? Probably, but you’re a big market team, that’s what it takes to get a star like that. Farhan would be better suited in Oakland or KC. I think he’s in over his head in SF. Giants have become a very boring team. I miss the days of Bonds, Lincecum, Buster, MadBum, etc. I hope Harrison or Marco pans out, otherwise we will lack star power for a while. Thanks again for your comments
Like Pete, I have to also disagree. A prospect, and Bart is still unestablished, should not be handed a starting position. No team does that, and they never have. Players have to have to earn it, and Bart hasn’t done that. Announcing an open competition for catcher isn’t taking away any opportunity from Bart. The Giants would be foolish not to do that.
The MiLs is where players learn, but the MLs are where players have to produce. Bart hasn’t done that to the extent that he should be given the position. If telling a guy he has to produce to earn a starting role hurts his psyche, the he has too fragile a psyche for MLB.
I agree that circumstances have handed Bart a tough row to hoe, but that wasn’t the team’s fault. And he hasn’t really shone in the face of that tough situation. But, the team hasn’t given up on him, and he is still getting chances.
If Bart was established with a couple of good seasons to show, then it would be different. But having an open competition for catcher was the smart thing to do to cover contingencies. Not bringing in other guys, and assuming Bart was going to be who they hope him to be, would have been short-sighted, and could have really hurt the team if he continued to struggle.
#tad – The toughest road Bart has had to hoe has been being sabotaged by a front office and manager, who seem to only want their own 1st round draft pick C to succeed. A better manager would have protection behind him in the lineup, because everyone knows he has big time power.
That’s completely ridiculous. Teams, even the worse run teams, don’t try to marginalize a potentially good player to promote another. Especially when that other player doesn’t appear to be as good. Bart’s minor league record was much better than Bailey’s. Teams just aren’t that stupid that they would torpedo a player with better stats in favor of an unproven player.
Bailey seems to have turned it around this season at AA, but he was not looking very good at the start of his MiL career. In A+, he posted a .703 OPS+. Bart had a .793 OPS at A+. Teams do not shoot themselves in the foot over which FO drafted whatever player. The idea is absurd.
Also ridiculous is the apologist assertion that Kapler held him back by his spot in the batting order. Good hitter’s are given protection to prevent them from being pitched around, or intentionally walked. If Bart was being pitched around he wouldn’t have had a sub-.300 OBP. Last season Bart mostly batted 9th. With the DH that meant he was followed by the top of the order. This conspiracy theory of yours doesn’t hold water.
And it’s row to hoe, not road. No one uses a hoe on a road. They do use hoes on rows of crops though.
Tad…
Great points. Although, I don’t think Bart was handed anything. He did everything asked of him. He worked his way up through the minors (& excelled in the minors) & then got called up too early (during COVID), then last year he was kind of the catcher full time, but he struggled early, but again is that a shock? Look at Kelenic for Seattle, or Gunnar now, even Volpe is struggling. But Seattle stayed the course with Kelenic & now he’s a stud. I felt like Bart was due for a breakout year until a week before camp they say the position is wide open. He had earned the right at that point to be handed the job, he has done everything asked. I would have been pissed off if they did that to me. Now he has to look over his shoulder all the time & wonder if the front office is going to trade for a veteran catcher. I agree nobody should be handed the job, but working your way up through the minors for multiple years, then getting called up way too early, then going back down when Buster returned, then back up, then back down, etc. is earning it. It’s like we’re all shocked that a young prospect playing the hardest position & trying to fill shoes that are impossible to fill, didn’t kill it his first few months of being the starter last year. I may be wrong but whether it’s here or for another team, Bart will be a better than average MLB player. If you gave him 500 abs right now, he’s going to hit 24+ hrs. He’ll probably strike out more than he should but he is improving. I don’t think Bochy would have played with his head like this, nor let the front office do it either. Players loved Bochy, I don’t think they feel the same for Kap. I cannot back this up, it’s just my opinion, but it just feels that way.
BondsAway, I agree with almost everything you say. I am not writing Bart off by any means. It’s still early in his career and he isn’t the first to struggle initially. Also, the fact that he is a catcher makes it more difficult, since he has so many other responsibilities. My point was he has been, and is still being given opportunities. I see no reason why he can’t be an above average, or even an all-star caliber catcher.
The thing is though, he hasn’t even been average. He’s looking better this season, but is currently just above average. He may have done everything asked of him, but up to this season, he hadn’t produced. His OPS+ heading into 2023 was 81. That’s not producing. Again, the MLs are about producing.
There is no middle ground. The team either hands the job to a guy with a career 81 OPS+, or they have an open competition for the position. The team would have been in serious remiss had they just handed the job to Bart without looking at other possibilities.
Fair enough. I appreciate you bringing in facts to back up what your saying. All your points are valid. You are right, he is still being given opportunities. Let’s hope he keeps it up this year.
#Pete’sView + Farhan didn’t inherit a completely bankrupt system. Luciano, Bart, Webb, Doval, ect, were not a completely bankrupt system. Nice try. But you’re trying too hard. Saying that Bart doesn’t hit for power is absolutely ridiculous. He hit 11 HR in a partial season last year, as a rookie, always from the bottom of the order. Dude has light tower power. Imagine if Kapler batted him in the middle of the lineup, with protection behind him, so he could get some good pitches to hit, for the first time in his MLB career. He’d probably hit 30+ HR every year. The strikeouts are a teamwide issue, not an individual issue, so that’s clearly a coaching issue. Also Bart’s cut his strikeout rate in half, while you apparently wearn’t paying attention.
Bart isn’t hitting for power right now, but he always has. He’s actually seeming to improve right now by going back to contact hitting
I agree. Bart actually has big power. He just hasn’t put it all together. But he has 30 HR potential. Maybe he never will realize that potential, but it’s still too soon to write him off. He is looking better so far.
BondsAway you’re correct. Farhan and Kapler have killed the winning culture in SF. When I saw Hunter Pence, of all people, saying that the Giants wouldn’t be in the playoffs, literally weeks before they were eliminated, that pretty much proved it to me.
Interesting that the team left it to Crawford to provide an update on Yaz’ condition.
Pete..
One more comment. You said the Giants don’t have a prospect like Kelenic. But Kelenic was drafted 6th overall & (correct me if I’m wrong) Bart was the drafted 2nd overall. So if you’re implying Seattle gave Kelenic a longer leash (as compared to Bart) because he was highly touted, well that would be inaccurate. I’m not a math major but a 2nd overall is more highly touted than a 6th overall. Bart had earned the right to be this year’s starting catcher without SF FO saying the C position is wide open a week before camp, that’s all.