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Austin Slater Suffers Strained Hamstring

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Giants outfielder Austin Slater has suffered a strained hamstring, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters, including Evan Webeck of Mercury News. It’s not known yet how this injury affects Slater’s status for Opening Day, now just 12 days away. Slater’s injury is another blow to the Giants’ outfield depth chart, with Mitch Haniger already recovering from an oblique strain and in doubt for Opening Day himself.

Haniger and Slater have not been officially ruled out of Opening Day, so it remains possible that both could feature. Yet should both miss time, the team’s depth in the outfield would take a bit of a hit. Joc Pederson, Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski would likely line up as the starting three outfielders, likely opening up the DH spot for another option, such as J.D. Davis.

This development could also open the door for non-roster invitee Stephen Piscotty to make the team out of camp as a bench outfielder. The former Athletic and Cardinal has had a solid spring, slashing .333/.391/.476 going into Saturday’s games. It’s been a few seasons since he was an above-average MLB player, but he could give the Giants a solid veteran option until Slater and/or Haniger return. Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol might’ve been another option for the Giants as he spent time in the outfield in the minors, but it’s been reported that they view him as strictly a catcher.

Slater, 30, slashed .264/.366/.408 with seven home runs for the Giants last season. He appeared in 125 games last season, largely handling center field but also spending time in the corners. The signings of Conforto and Haniger looked set to relegate him to a bench role this season, but the latter’s oblique strain had initially made him a good chance to start on Opening Day.

Injury Notes: Blackburn, Pina, Morejon, Garcia, Szapucki

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The A’s will open the season with both starter Paul Blackburn and catcher Manny Piña on the injured list, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters this afternoon (link via Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). Blackburn still can’t throw at full strength after ripping the nail on his middle finger a couple weeks ago. Piña, meanwhile, was diagnosed with left wrist inflammation after meeting with a specialist yesterday. His wrist is currently in a brace and there’s no timetable for his return to baseball activity.

Neither development comes as a surprise. Kotsay said a few days ago both players were questionable for Opening Day. Blackburn’s absence doesn’t figure to be a long-term concern but will require an adjustment to the starting five. Blackburn would have been assured of an Opening Day rotation spot, joining Drew Rucinski and Shintaro Fujinami in that regard. James Kaprielian seems as if he’ll join them, as Kotsay indicated today the righty is on track to be ready for the season after offseason shoulder surgery. The A’s will need to make a move at catcher in the next two weeks, as Shea Langeliers is the only healthy backstop on the 40-man roster.

More injury updates around the game:

  • Padres southpaw Adrián Morejón went for an MRI after departing a weekend Spring Training game with elbow discomfort. Manager Bob Melvin provided a generally positive update this afternoon, telling the media that Morejón’s MRI came back clean of structural damage (video provided by 97.3 FM The Fan). Imaging did reveal some inflammation in the joint and the young hurler will be shut down from throwing until symptoms subside. That could be within a matter of days, according to Melvin. While Morejón may still need to open the season on the 15-day injured list, that there’s no structural damage warrants a sigh of relief considering his injury history. He lost most of 2021 and the first half of last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The Friars used Morejón exclusively out of the bullpen last year. They’ve floated the possibility of moving him back to the rotation at some point, though it remains to be seen if his latest elbow discomfort will affect the club’s usage plan.
  • The Pirates announced last week that reliever Jarlín García was being shut down after experiencing some discomfort in his throwing arm. Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk provided an update yesterday, telling reporters the southpaw has a nerve injury in the biceps area (via Justice delos Santos of MLB.com). He’ll remain shut down from throwing for at least four to five weeks before going for more testing late next month. It’s clear García is in for an extended absence to start the season, as even a best-case scenario in which he can start throwing again in mid-April will require a ramp-up period lasting into May. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Pittsburgh place him on the 60-day injured list at some point. García signed a $2.5MM free agent deal over the winter after being non-tendered by the Giants despite a 3.74 ERA in 65 innings last season.
  • Giants reliever Thomas Szapucki will meet with a thoracic outlet syndrome specialist next week, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’d been sidelined of late by discomfort in his elbow area and there’s evidently some concern it’s related to the condition. Thoracic outlet syndrome has become a fairly prevalent issue for pitchers in recent years, typically requiring a surgical procedure that involves the removal of a rib to reduce nerve pressure in the arm. The track record for players returning from that issue is mixed. While players like Merrill Kelly have come back better than ever, the likes of Stephen Strasburg and Matt Harvey have never regained their pre-surgery form.

Sergio Romo Signs Non-Roster Deal With Giants For Likely Final Appearance

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Veteran reliever Sergio Romo has signed with the Giants on a minor league deal with a non-roster invite to Spring Training, according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. According to Baggarly, the plan is for Romo to pitch in the team’s Bay Bridge exhibition against the A’s at Oracle Park towards the end of Spring Training as a farewell tour for Romo, who pitched in nine seasons for the Giants and won the World Series with the club in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Though he didn’t specifically use the word “retire,” the right-hander spoke very much like someone who expects this to be a ceremonial final stop.

“I’m not coming here to make a team,” Romo tells Baggarly. “I can’t make this team right now. Mainly I’m not trying to. I like where I am in life, seeing my kids as often as I can.”

Romo’s career began in San Francisco in 2008, his age-25 season. He impressed in his debut campaign, posting a 2.12 ERA in 34 innings of work. After a difficult 2009 season where Romo’s ERA was nearly two runs higher than his FIP, he returned to form in a 2010 season that would kick off a four-year stretch of utter dominance. During that time, he posted a sterling 2.03 ERA (178 ERA+) in 225 2/3 innings while striking out 261. That four-year stretch saw Romo collect two World Series rings (one of which he earned by striking out Miguel Cabrera to end the 2012 World Series) and his sole career All-Star appearance.

The 2014 season was something of a step back for Romo, however, even as his club won its third World Series in five years. Romo posted his first below average season of his career by ERA+. His 3.72 ERA was 7% worse than league average by that metric, and unlike his difficult 2009 season, his FIP wasn’t up to his previous standards either, standing at 3.94. Fortunately, Romo would return to form as an above-average reliever for his last two seasons in a Giants uniform, posting a 2.87 ERA (137 ERA+) in 88 innings of work, with an even stronger 2.57 FIP.

Ultimately, Romo was a phenomenal reliever during his tenure with San Francisco, pitching to a 2.58 ERA (146 ERA+) in 515 games while striking out 498 and collecting 87 saves. He also pitched well in the postseason, posting a 3.06 ERA in his 23 1/3 innings of work for the Giants in the postseason, including six scoreless appearances in World Series games.

In the six years following his departure from the Giants organization, Romo would pitch for seven different organizations: the Dodgers, Rays, Marlins, Twins, A’s, and Blue Jays. Despite those years accounting for his mid-to-late thirties, Romo was still a league average reliever during that time, with his 4.20 ERA over those 283 innings translating to an ERA+ of exactly 100.

In the event that this marks the end of his career, Romo, who celebrated his 40th birthday earlier this month, will have appeared in 821 regular season games while finishing 301 over his decade and a half tenure in the major leagues, with a 3.21 career ERA. He also racked up 137 saves and 204 holds along the way.

Ronald Guzmán Diagnosed With Pronator Strain

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Ronald Guzmán of the Giants recently underwent an MRI after experiencing some forearm discomfort. The team provided an update to reporters today, with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle among those to relay the information. Guzmán has a left pronator strain but will not require surgery. Slusser later got an update from Guzmán himself, who said that he won’t throw for the next four weeks and will likely miss six-to-eight weeks in total.

Guzmán, 28, has spent most of his career as a first baseman but is attempting to become a two-way player this year. He signed a minor league deal with the Giants this offseason, explaining in March that they were the only team that would let him try his hand at pitching.

The lefty wasn’t in line for an Opening Day roster spot, as the plan was always to send him to the minors to continue his development on the mound. This update won’t impact the club’s roster decisions at the end of camp but it will put the experiment on hold until about May. He tossed 3 1/3 innings in spring before this shutdown, allowing three earned runs in that time but striking out five batters.

From his time as a first baseman, Guzman has appeared in 246 major league games with a .225/.302/.410 batting line, leading to a wRC+ of 83. In that time, he’s exhausted his option seasons and racked up over three years of service time. If he makes it onto the Giants’ roster at any point, they could retain him for future seasons via arbitration. It’s unclear at this point if he’ll be able to hit while shut down from throwing or if the timeline would be any different.

Giants’ Luis Gonzalez To Undergo Back Surgery

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Giants outfielder Luis Gonzalez will undergo surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back later today, reports Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (Twitter link). The procedure comes with a sizable 16-week recovery timetable, which takes him through late June on the calendar. Once recovered, he’ll still need to build back up to baseball activity and game readiness.

Gonzalez, 27, got out to a hot start in 2022, his first season with the Giants after spending his entire career with the White Sox organization prior to that point. Through June 21, Gonzalez was hitting .302/.361/.447 in 180 plate appearances, but a lower back strain shelved him for the next two and a half weeks. He returned on July 9 but was back on the injured list with another back strain about six weeks later — this time missing the remainder of the season. Gonzalez may never have been fully healthy upon returning, as he batted only .204/.282/.270 in 170 trips to the plate between those two IL stints.

It was already known that Gonzalez would miss the start of the season due to ongoing back troubles, but an absence of this magnitude hadn’t been previously revealed. The Giants initially placed a  four- to six-week timetable on his absence early in camp, but the team announced yesterday that he was seeking a second opinion from a spinal specialist.

The Giants are now down two outfielders, as offseason signee Mitch Haniger is dealing with a Grade 1 oblique strain that threatens his readiness for Opening Day. With that pair on the sidelines for now, the Giants will utilize Michael Conforto, Mike Yastrzemski and likely a combination of Joc Pederson and Austin Slater in the outfield to begin the season. Prospect Heliot Ramos was optioned the other day.

If Haniger is to begin the season on the injured list, that could also open the door for a non-roster invitee like Stephen Piscotty — who’s having a strong showing so far in camp — to make the Opening Day roster as well. Gonzalez’s long-term absence would create an easy avenue for adding such a player to the 40-man roster, as he’s now an obvious candidate to be shifted to the 60-day injured list.

Blue Jays Notes: Stripling, Jansen, Kirk, Tiedemann

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Ross Stripling played two and a half campaigns in Toronto after being acquired from the Dodgers in a 2020 deadline trade. The right-hander had a quality second full season as a Blue Jay, throwing 134 1/3 innings of 3.01 ERA ball over 32 outings (24 starts) last year. It was a well-timed return to his early-career form, as Stripling hit free agency for the first time this offseason.

That set the stage for a two-year, $25MM pact with the Giants — one which allowed him to opt out and retest the market next offseason after collecting half that sum. Stripling tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet the incumbent Jays were among four teams that remained in the bidding throughout the process and said the club was willing to match the $25MM guarantee. However, he indicated the Giants’ willingness to include the opt-out was a decisive factor in his call to head to San Francisco. “I loved my time in Toronto and they were in the mix to the very end,” he told Davidi. “Essentially what it came down to was the Giants offered me an opt-out after the first year and the Blue Jays wouldn’t. That made it a no-brainer, really. … Once (the opt-out) was on the board, it was like, man, you can’t walk away from that. It’s as simple as that.”

The 33-year-old Stripling pointed to the three-year, $63MM deal which Toronto gave Chris Bassitt headed into his age-34 season as an example of the kind of earning power he could have next winter if he pitches well in San Francisco. Stripling began last year in a swing role after struggling between 2020-21. Replicating last season’s production over a full rotation workload could position him as one of the more intruding mid-rotation options in next winter’s class.

In other Toronto news:

  • Manager John Schneider discussed the team’s catching duo, telling reporters the club isn’t planning to utilize the likes of Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk at designated hitter as often as they did last season (link via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). While Jansen was only penciled into the DH spot three times, Kirk was in the lineup for 50 such contests. Curtailing that workload isn’t too surprising considering the Jays signed Brandon Belt away from San Francisco to work as the primary DH. Belt’s 2022 season was cut short by a knee procedure but Toronto nevertheless rolled the dice on a $9.3MM free agent deal. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. locked in at first base, Belt is likely to log the vast majority of his work at the bat-only position. That’d keep Kirk and Jansen behind the dish, with Schneider estimating there’ll be a “pretty even split” at the position. Matheson notes that Kirk figures to be behind the dish for Alek Manoah’s starts. An injury to Belt could change the calculus but the current plan seems to be for the Jays to use their backstops a little less often to keep them fresher. Toronto’s enviable depth at the position allowed them to deal top prospect Gabriel Moreno to Arizona to add Daulton Varsho to the outfield.
  • Moreno’s departure vaulted left-hander Ricky Tiedemann to the top of the Jays’ farm rankings at Baseball America. The 6’4″ hurler had a breakout showing in his first fill professional season, reaching Double-A at age 20. Now one of the top pitching prospects in the sport, Tiedemann has been in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee. The youngster recently experienced a bit of soreness in his throwing shoulder, Schneider told reporters (including Hazel Mae). It doesn’t seem the club is particularly concerned, as the manager indicated Tiedemann could throw a side session on Wednesday after being shut down for a few days. The former third-round pick isn’t a candidate to break camp with the big league club; he figures to start the season at Double-A New Hampshire if healthy.

Giants Shut Brandon Crawford Down Due To Knee Discomfort

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The Giants announced a slew of injury updates Monday, revealing that shortstop Brandon Crawford will be shut down from all baseball activity for the next week due to discomfort in his left knee. The team added that lefty Thomas Szapucki is seeking a second opinion on a left upper arm injury and that third baseman David Villar has been diagnosed with a mild strain in his left hip flexor. Two-way player Ronald Guzman is slated for an MRI after experiencing left forearm discomfort yesterday, and outfielder Luis Gonzalez is getting a second opinion from a spine specialist due to ongoing discomfort in his back.

Crawford, 36, is coming off his worst showing at the plate since the 2019 season, having batted just .231/.308/.344 last season (87 wRC+). That same left knee twice sent Crawford to the injured list last summer, costing him about a month overall. He was limited to 118 games and 458 plate appearances on the year. The Giants haven’t indicated whether Crawford might be sidelined to begin the 2023 season. If he’s able to return to baseball activity next Monday, he’d have 10 days to build up in advance of the Giants’ season opener on March 30.

In the event that Crawford does need to miss some time, Thairo Estrada could move over from second base to cover the shortstop position in the short-term. Estrada, who hit .260/.322/.400 in 541 plate appearances in 2022, spent 286 innings at shortstop last season — second-most on the team behind Crawford. Donovan Walton might be another option were he healthy, but he’s expected to be out until at least May as he continues recovering from last September’s shoulder surgery. Minor leaguers Casey Schmitt, 24, and Brett Wisely, 23, could also be options after posting strong showings in Double-A last year. Wisely is already on the 40-man roster. Schmitt would need to be added.

Villar, the Giants say, will be reevaluated daily, so it’s possible he’s only looking at a short-term absence. He entered camp as the favorite to win the Giants’ third base job this spring after hitting .231/.331/.455 through 181 plate appearances as a rookie in 2022, though he’s just 1-for-14 so far in Cactus League play. If Villar’s hip injury proves to be enough to keep him out, the Giants have veterans J.D. Davis and Wilmer Flores as options at the hot corner. Flores could also factor in at second base in the event that Estrada slides over to shortstop to cover for Crawford.

As for the other injuries, more information will be available following additional testing. Szapucki was originally said by manager Gabe Kapler to be dealing with elbow discomfort, but the Giants’ release today instead specified an “upper arm” injury. The former Mets southpaw, acquired alongside Davis in the deal sending Darin Ruf to Queens, tossed 13 2/3 innings of 1.98 ERA ball with the Giants following that trade and worked to a 3.11 ERA in 72 1/3 Triple-A frames between the two organizations last season. The Giants are six- or seven-deep in big league starters — Logan Webb, Alex Wood, Alex Cobb, Anthony DeSclafani, Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling, Jakob Junis — but Szapucki represents depth both for the rotation and the bullpen.

It was already known that Gonzalez’s back injury would cause him to miss the beginning the season. As for Guzman, the former Rangers first base prospect has been hoping to prove himself a viable presence on the mound, but he’s been tagged for three runs in 3 1/3 innings this spring and is now heading for imaging after the ominous complaint of forearm discomfort.

Injury Notes: Marte, Guzman, Guerrero, O’Hearn, Hall

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Starling Marte will undergo further tests on Monday after being hit in the head by an Elvin Rodriguez pitch in today’s game.  Marte was able to walk off the field by himself and initial concussion tests were negative, yet the Mets will naturally be very careful in monitoring any sort of head-related injury.

It was only Marte’s second game of Spring Training, as he didn’t take the field until last Friday due to the Mets’ desire to slowly bring Marte back up to speed following groin surgery in November.  The club expected the outfielder to be ready for Opening Day, and that should still be the case, if Marte has indeed escaped injury after today’s scary incident.

More injury updates from around baseball…

  • Ronald Guzman left today’s Cactus League game in obvious pain after throwing a pitch, and Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Evan Webeck of the Bay Area News Group) that Guzman was undergoing tests for discomfort in his forearm.  It’s an ominous turn of events for Guzman, who has been one of Spring Training’s more interesting stories as he pursues a new chapter in his career as a two-way player.  The former Rangers/Yankees first baseman inked a minor league deal with the Giants, in large part because San Francisco was the only team willing to give Guzman a chance to pitch.
  • Knee inflammation kept Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from participating in the World Baseball Classic, and the Blue Jays slugger hasn’t played in any spring games since last Friday.  However, Guerrero has been facing live pitching and taking part in fielding drills, and manager John Schneider told reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) that Guerrero reported no issues after running the bases.  If all goes well after another base-running session tomorrow, the Jays will have a better idea of when Guerrero can get back to game action.  With over two weeks to go until Opening Day, it doesn’t yet appear as though Guerrero is in danger of missing any of the regular season, but more will be known once the first baseman is fully ramped up.
  • Orioles outfielder/first baseman Ryan O’Hearn is day to day with a sore knee.  The injury is a minor setback in what has been a red-hot Spring Training for O’Hearn, as he tries to win a job on Baltimore’s bench.  In other Orioles news, manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski and other media that DL Hall threw “extremely well” during a live batting practice session, and is slated for another live BP on Tuesday.  Hall’s progress in camp has been slowed by lower-back problems and he has yet to pitch in a game, so the southpaw’s only chance of making the Opening Day roster is as a reliever.

Mitch Haniger Suffers Grade 1 Oblique Strain

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New signing Mitch Haniger’s status for Opening Day is unclear, after the Giants outfielder suffered a Grade 1 oblique strain yesterday, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Haniger suffered the injury as a result of an awkward swing on Friday. He had been due to play in San Francicso’s game against the Rockies that day, but was scratched.

Haniger, 32, was San Francisco’s biggest off-season investment this winter, signing with the team on a three-year, $43.5MM deal and the Giants seemingly remain hopeful of Haniger featuring in their March 30 opener against the Yankees.

“I think anything is possible at this point. We’re still figuring out the return-to-play timeline. Obliques are challenging. Yes, I have had them. Sometimes they feel like they’re 100% healed, but then they’re not always 100% healed. I don’t have information yet that Mitch won’t be ready for the season for us. Maybe on the same track, maybe just less reps in spring training,” manager Gabe Kapler told reporters.

Grade 1 strains typically require a four week recovery period, which would obviously put Haniger’s availability for Opening Day in major doubt, but each strain is different so there’s a chance he recovers sooner. Haniger wound up with a .246/.308/.429 line with 11 home runs over 247 plate appearances last season for the Mariners, and is set to be the Giants everyday right fielder this year.

The signings of Haniger and Michael Conforto had appeared to push Joc Pederson into more of a full-time DH role, but the left-handed hitter could see some time in the corner outfield if Haniger isn’t ready for the start of the season. The other candidate to fill in would be Austin Slater, who currently projects as the team’s fourth outfielder. J.D. Davis has also seen time in the outfield, while the team has Stephen Piscotty with them as a non-roster player this spring, but for now they’ll hope Haniger can recover in time to make his debut on Opening Day.

Minor MLB Transactions: Pelham, Shore

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A pair of NL West teams recently added some pitching depth via minor league deal:

  • The Padres agreed to a non-roster pact with southpaw CD Pelham, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The 28-year-old adds some bullpen depth to open the season with Triple-A El Paso. Pelham has ten big league games under his belt, all of which came as a member of the 2018 Rangers. He threw 7 2/3 innings that year, allowing six runs on 12 hits. The South Carolina native has a 5.31 ERA over parts of six minor league campaigns. Pelham spent last season in the Cubs organization, splitting the year between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Iowa. Over 41 1/3 combined frames, he worked to a 4.31 ERA with a 23.6% strikeout percentage and a lofty 14.4% walk rate.
  • The Giants have added right-hander Logan Shore on a non-roster deal, per the MLB.com transactions log. A University of Florida product, Shore went to the A’s in the second round of the 2016 draft. He was dealt to Detroit as one of two players returned in the 2018 Mike Fiers trade. Shore has spent the past few seasons at the upper levels of the Tigers system but never earned an MLB call. He spent all of last year with Triple-A Toledo, working more out of the bullpen than the rotation for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old struggled to a 5.68 ERA through 52 1/3 frames, striking out a below-average 15.9% of batters faced against a 9.8% walk rate.
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