Giants infielder Casey Schmitt underwent surgery to remove a carpal boss from his left wrist this morning, the team announced. He’ll require anywhere from eight to ten weeks to recover. That could cut into Schmitt’s availability early in spring training, but so long as there are no lingering complications, he should have time to ramp up for Opening Day.
Word of Schmitt’s surgery comes just a day after reports emerged that the Giants were among the teams looking into second base upgrades. That’s hardly a surprise, given that San Francisco second basemen combined for a dismal .217/.273/.343 batting line in 2025. The resulting 73 wRC+ (indicating they were 27% worse than league-average) ranked 27th in MLB.
Schmitt, Tyler Fitzgerald, Christian Koss and Brett Wisely took all of the reps at second base for San Francisco last season. None of them hit well while manning the keystone — though Schmitt’s overall .234/.305/.401 was only a bit worse than average at the plate (98 wRC+). Coupled with 113 solid plate appearances in 2024, Schmitt has been an average bat over the past two seasons, hitting .241/.300/.420 with 18 homers in 461 plate appearances.
As things stand, Schmitt sits atop the Giants’ depth chart at second base. Fitzgerald and Koss both remain with the organization. Wisely was claimed off waivers by Atlanta in September and remains on the Braves’ 40-man roster.
There’s no top prospect breathing down Schmitt’s neck. Gavin Kilen, Josuar Gonzalez and Jhonny Level all play the middle infield, but none will be ready for a look come 2026. The Giants have long stood as a fit to add help at second base, though their stated reluctance to go long-term on starting pitchers this offseason makes it worth wondering whether they’d make a real run at top free agent Bo Bichette. Alternatives in free agency include Jorge Polanco and Ha-Seong Kim, while the trade market presents possibilities like Brandon Lowe, Brendan Donovan, CJ Abrams and buy-low names such as Nolan Gorman and Luisangel Acuña.
For now, Schmitt still profiles as the top option, but news of his injury only further shines a light on the Giants’ need at second base. If the Giants do succeed in bringing in someone from outside the organization, that doesn’t necessarily squeeze Schmitt out of a role entirely. He has ample experience at all three infield spots to the left of first base to go along with decent speed and a strong throwing arm. He’d make a decent utility player and also has a minor league option remaining, giving the Giants the flexibility to send him to Triple-A Sacramento and call him up in the event of an injury elsewhere on the roster. The Giants can control Schmitt for at least another four seasons — possibly five, depending on how much (if any) time he spends in the minors during his final option year.
Seize the boss?
“Schmitt’s overall .234/.305/.401 was only a bit worse than average at the plate (98 wRC+)”
Schmitt is better than that line — he was hitting pretty well before he got hit by a pitch on the wrist, which he clearly never quite recovered from.
Not really. The same swing and miss is still present, and it was like that way before any wrist injury.
I think he’s a great change of scenery candidate and could easily start at third and give a team Gold Glove defense, even if his bat is what it is.
Guaranteed if the Giants dump him, it’ll be like trading Bryan Reynolds for Andrew McCutchen. i.e. a trade everybody knew was dumb at the time and still knows was dumb.
Why do players wait until December 2nd to get surgery??? You do it mid October. He would already be in week 7ish in recovery and good to go in January???
Always blows my mind
Rehab first. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Not all injuries get reported. Surgery is the last resort.
Rub dirt on it > rehab > surgery
He must have Kaiser.
I highly recommend Sutter Health as an alternative healthcare provider.
My alternative healthcare provider burns incense, dances around me and chants.
Which also works.
I second Yankees explanation. Often you want to try rehab first.
I’m guessing this was all part of the plan — something to effect of:
‘If you’re not showing enough progress by the beginning of December, let’s do the surgery — that should leave enough time to be ready for the season.”
I agree. He should be ready. I just had a bone removed from under my thumb on October 30th. Feels fine now. Pretty sure I could swing a bat smoothly, if only I was able to actually lift one..
Ha ha. Too much posting ? The old boomer thumb had to grow an extra bone to handle the load ?
He wants to be fresh for October, oh wait nevermind he plays for the giants, they don’t play in October.
and ruin his vacation in the Caribbean, are you insane >_<
At first glance, I thought your comment read, “and ruin his vacation with the Caribou,…”.
No Jeff McNeil mention? He’d slot into that lineup like a glove and wouldn’t be counted on to play 140 games with Koss/Schmitt in the fold. His defense would be more than passable playing less as well. A one year gamble on McNeil is exactly the type of contract(s) the Giants are looking for.
I’m confident the Mets would be happy just to clear all of McNeil’s salary with a minimal prospect return. Only problem is the trade makes so much sense for both teams it will never happen.
He’s fiery too, possibly a plus…
whu go get mcneil when he isn’t really an upgrade from koss
The only thing that I really know about McNeil is that he cries a lot. But that’s enough for me to know. Pass.
Except he’s not much of an upgrade over Schmitt UNLESS he hits lefties like he did up till 2 years ago.
Not a fan of McNeil. Yes he’s fiery, but apparently a little too over the top. Apparently there was friction in the clubhouse because he’d get angry when he struggled and it wore on his teammates. There was also word that there was friction between him and Lindor as well. Not the kind of guy I’d like to see in the Giants’ dugout.
I like fire in players. Sounds like Jeff Kent.
From media reports, this guy has been scapegoated. Whatever. Hes a former batting title winner and hes from central California(which means hes probably a Dodger fan but OK).
With Schmitt down the Giants could use this guy. We’d get him for 1 year with a team option. And he shouldn’t cost much in prospects as opposed to Brendan Donovan; Cards would want Kilen and that’s a hard no. Also, Koss is great as a weak side platoon and great glove but hes not a full time player.
If Giants can get Senga included in the deal it would help the team out greatly.
Not sure about the scapegoating when McNeil was the common factor in the friction between more than one teammate. I saw a Mets’ game last season when McNeil tagged a guy out at 2B, then jumped up and started shouting, and pointing his finger at the guy laying on the ground. I thought it was completely punk by McNeil.
I like fire as well, but only if it’s controlled. Guys that are constantly venting their frustration by slamming things around in the clubhouse and dugout really wears on his teammates nerves. I remember Mike Krukow saying that during a broadcast once.
I also remember seeing a shoving match in the Red Sox dugout during a game 20 some years ago, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youklis had to be separated by their teammates, because Youklis was a fiery type, and it got too much for Ramirez.
It was reported that other teammates approached Youklis about his venting his anger, even when the team had a big lead. The feeling was that Youklis cared more about himself than the team. I really don’t want to see that in the Giants’ dugout.
Fair. I believe Chapman, Webb and Adames would regulate that behavior. I also think SFG does a great job of maintaining positive vibes in the dugout thanks to a culture that comes from the top; Devers has thrived after an adjustment period post trade.
Because McNeil has a history of success and hes not too old I think the juice is worth the squeeze. And a short term gamble is what the FO apparently is willing to take on.
The veterans have a lot more sway with the young guys. The way I see it is McNeil will be 34, and if he’s set in his fiery ways would probably resist them telling him how to act. One of the positives I took from last season was seeing the smiles and comradery in the dugout. I’d hate to see all that mutual good feeling compromised.
We’ll probably never know anyway. I could be wrong about McNeil, but if the Giants are in fact interested in acquiring him (I haven’t seen anything to suggest they are), I’m sure they’ll take the question of team chemistry seriously, and will be good with it, before pulling the trigger.
From the link you provided in the article:
“a carpal boss doesn’t require treatment”
Unless maybe you swing a bat for a living?
The article doesn’t qualify the statement. They linked to an article explaining the condition that says definitively that a carpal boss does not require treatment.
Further down in the article it states that a carpal boss can sometimes cause pain if it’s pressing on a nerve or rubbing against another bone. One would assume this was probably the case for Schmitt if he felt the need for surgery.
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Get off my back, forget it
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Get off my back
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Get off my back
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Carpal boss, carpal boss
Carpal boss, carpal boss
This is ill!
ok so this person obviously didn’t do their research – to say none did well when koss had a line of 264/309/368 isn’t exactly accurate. most of the crappy numbers came via the fitzgerald and wisely side (which is why wisley was DFAd )
Schmitt was on fire when he got hit on the wrist. Not the same after. Clearly there were after effects. I’ve been a Schmitty fan since before his MLB debut. His plate discipline has improved and I think it will continue to. He has power, a glove and an arm no matter what any metrics might say. I’d like to see him take some reps in the outfield despite being a natural infielder (3rd baseman). If he hitsand get on base, he will play.
I’m a fan a Schmitt too — seems the chatter around replacing him is from just looking at his baseball reference page; which was skewed from his injury.
Casey deserves a good run at the 2B position this season. He could be ready to break out as a good asset for SFG.
All the speculation about an upgrade is probably just click bait in most cases. The ONLY true upgrade they should even consider is Bo, who will most likely resign with TOR.
Yeah. Give him another year as the 2B man. He is moving forward. Slowly, but he does look to be going forward.
I’m not a fan of Schmitt. Yes, his plate discipline improved, but when you’re about the worst guy in MLB, an improvement from horrendous to bad is still bad. His improvement got him into the lowest 26th percentile for chase. Look at his Baseball Savant page:
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/casey-schmitt…
He’s only really good when he does make contact as his launch angle is very good. But his barrels is average, and his squared-up % is not good.