Giants’ Reggie Crawford Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

Giants prospect Reggie Crawford has undergone shoulder surgery. “Will never be beaten,” Crawford said in a post on X along with a picture of himself recovering from the procedure. “Thank you to Dr. ElAttrache for taking care of the shoulder. I will be back soon [emoji of hands making a heart shape]” The club later announced to members of the beat, including Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (X link), that the labrum surgery comes with an estimated recovery timeline of 10 to 12 months. He will therefore miss most or perhaps all of the 2025 season.

Crawford, now 23, was selected by the Giants with the 30th overall pick in the 2022 draft. A two-way player in college, the Giants let him both pitch and hit last year, though his workload was limited. He had undergone Tommy John surgery late in 2021 and didn’t pitch at all in 2022, then dealt with various other ailments during the 2023 season including mononucleosis and a strained oblique. He tossed 19 innings on the year and made 19 plate appearances, splitting his time between Single-A and High-A. He went to the Arizona Fall League but didn’t pitch, hitting .138/.282/.276 in his 71 plate appearances there.

The Giants decided to have him focus exclusively on pitching in 2024. He hadn’t hit much in a small sample of work since being drafted but he had impressed with his stuff from the mound. His fastball is in the triple-digit range while both Baseball America and FanGraphs praised his curveball earlier this year.

Crawford tossed 18 1/3 innings this year, split between Double-A and Triple-A. He allowed 2.95 earned runs per nine while striking out 38.5% of batters faced. His 15.4% walk rate was quite high, perhaps unsurprising for a guy with so much missed time.

But his last appearance was in June and he’s now slated for another lengthy absence. Crawford is clearly talented but the numerous bumps in the road are less than an ideal for a pitcher who is still developing and harnessing his stuff. At this point, between college and the minors, he’s only thrown 53 2/3 of official gameplay.

He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft after sitting out the majority, or perhaps the entirety, of the 2025 campaign. Given his talent and status as a key prospect in the organization, the Giants will likely still protect him by giving him a roster spot. Still, this is a notable development for Crawford and the club. Getting the best version of Crawford was already going to be a project for the Giants and now he’s going to be on ice for close to a year, putting his development on pause.