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Evan Longoria

Giants Reinstate Evan Longoria From 60-Day Injured List

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Evan Longoria is back with the Giants, as the team announced that the veteran third baseman has been activated off of the 60-day injured list.  The Giants also placed righty Jay Jackson on the COVID-related injured list and optioned Thairo Estrada to Triple-A, while calling up left-hander Sammy Long from Triple-A to start tonight’s game.

Longoria suffered a sprained shoulder in early June, which halted a major comeback year for the 35-year-old.  After posting a below-average 94 wRC+ from 2017-2020, Longoria exploded for a 140 wRC+, nine home runs, and a .280/.376/.516 slash line over his first 186 plate appearances of the 2021 season.  Small sample size notwithstanding, the advanced numbers backed up Longoria’s improvement, as he had a whopping 61.3% hard-hit rate (per Statcast) at the time of his injury.  There were some earlier hints of a breakout, as Longoria greatly underperformed his xwOBA in both 2019 and 2020, though his underperformance this season (.380 wOBA to a .401 xwOBA) is at least a fairer representation of how well he has been hitting.

The Giants have kept on winning in Longoria’s absence, and his return as the regular third baseman will create some shuffling around the roster.  Wilmer Flores and, most recently, Kris Bryant have been seeing action at the hot corner, and it’s safe to assume that those two and Tommy La Stella could get the odd start at third base to spell Longoria.  Bryant will be playing everyday in some capacity around the diamond and will likely see more time in the outfield with Longoria back, while Flores, La Stella, and Donovan Solano will jostle for playing time at second base.

This surplus of talent falls into the “good problem to have” category for the first-place Giants, and Estrada is going to Triple-A despite hitting .300/.371/.438 over 89 PA this season.  Estrada, however, still has minor league options remaining, which makes him the unlucky odd man out on the rather stacked San Francisco roster.

Jackson’s absence is due to vaccine side effects, according to Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).  That should mean a very brief absence for the 33-year-old, who has a 3.77 ERA and 37.5% strikeout rate over 14 1/3 relief innings this season.

Giants Activate Brandon Belt From Injured List

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The Giants announced they’ve reinstated first baseman Brandon Belt from the 10-day injured list. He’s starting at first base, hitting seventh in the order this afternoon against the Diamondbacks. To create active roster space, starter Kevin Gausman was placed on the paternity list.

Belt returns after missing around six weeks with right knee inflammation, his second IL stint of the season. In between the injuries, the 33-year-old had been having a quietly excellent year at the plate, hitting .253/.363/.512 with eleven home runs across 201 plate appearances. A career-high 32.3% strikeout rate has knocked a bit of a blow to Belt’s batting average, but he’s again demonstrated a very good combination of plate discipline and power.

Going back to the start of the 2020 season, Belt has a .279/.392/.549 line. By measure of wRC+ (minimum 300 plate appearances), only Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatís Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Bryce Harper have been more productive on a rate basis. However, Belt’s injuries have kept him to a little more than half the playing time of some of those star players.

In other positive news for the Giants, third baseman Evan Longoria is beginning a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento this evening, the team told reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). Longoria has been down since June 6 with a left shoulder sprain, but he’s apparently nearing a return. The 35-year-old was enjoying a resurgent season before the injury, hitting .280/.376/.516 through his first 186 plate appearances. The stellar production from Belt and Longoria has been a significant part of the Giants’ league-best 68-40 record, good for a 3.5 game lead in the National League West.

Giants Select Jay Jackson

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The Giants announced this afternoon they’re selecting the contract of reliever Jay Jackson. To create space on the 40-man roster, San Francisco transferred third baseman Evan Longoria from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. To create active roster space, infielder Jason Vosler was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Additionally, staff ace Kevin Gausman has been placed on the family medical emergency list. Righty Logan Webb was recalled to start tonight’s game against the Cardinals in his place.

Jackson returns to the majors for the first time since 2019. That year, he made 28 appearances out of the Brewers bullpen. Across 30 1/3 innings, the hard-throwing righty pitched to a 4.45 ERA/3.57 SIERA. Jackson showed legitimate swing-and-miss stuff, racking up whiffs on 17.7% of his offerings and striking out hitters at a fantastic 35.6% clip. He also had some obvious control issues, though, walking 13.6% of batters faced that season.

The 33-year-old spent part of the 2020 campaign with the Chiba Lotte Mariners of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball before returning to the U.S. last summer. He signed a minors deal with San Francisco in January and has earned his way back to the big leagues with a fantastic start to the season in Sacramento. Jackson has made eight appearances with the River Cats and tossed eleven scoreless innings, punching out a whopping 48.6% of opponents against a minuscule 2.7% walk rate.

Longoria landed on the IL on June 6 with a left shoulder sprain. He’s now ineligible to come back until 60 days have passed since that original placement — not today’s transfer date — so he can return during the first week of August. It seems there’s some chance he’ll do so, as manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) that Longoria’s doing well in his recovery. It has been an incredible bounceback season for the 35-year-old, who is hitting .280/.376/.516 over 186 plate appearances.

Evan Longoria Out Four To Six Weeks With Shoulder Sprain

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7:24PM: Longoria told The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly and other reporters that he isn’t feeling pain in the shoulder itself, as his injury is specifically a dislocated SC joint.  Because of the somewhat odd nature of the injury, Longoria isn’t certain about a timetable.

1:39PM: The Giants announced that third baseman Evan Longoria has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left shoulder. He’s expected to miss four to six weeks, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle). Utilityman Thairo Estrada has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento in his place.

Longoria suffered the injury when he collided with shortstop Brandon Crawford during last night’s game against the Cubs. It’s a brutal development for a Giants team holding a two-game advantage in a highly competitive NL West. Longoria has been one of the most instrumental pieces of the club’s success, putting up a .280/.376/.516 line with nine home runs over 186 plate appearances. After adjusting for pitcher-friendly Oracle Park, Longoria’s 146 wRC+ places him among the top 25 qualified hitters in the sport this season. That kind of production is reminiscent of his peak days in Tampa Bay, when Longoria was one of the game’s most valuable players.

There’s virtually no way for the Giants to replace that kind of production, but San Francisco now seems likely to turn to some combination of Wilmer Flores, Jason Vosler and Mauricio Dubón at third base. Flores has generally been a decent hitter over the past few years. The 29-year-old is hitting a league-average .248/.328/.380 in 137 plate appearances this season.

On the plus side, San Francisco is at least set to welcome one of their other top bats in the next few days. First baseman Brandon Belt is expected to be reinstated from the injured list during the team’s upcoming road trip, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). Belt, out since May 26 with an oblique issue, has hit .228/.350/.474 over 137 trips to the plate.

Giants’ Latest Roster Moves

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The Giants made a number of roster moves on Tuesday, provided here by Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). On the pitching front, San Francisco purchased Dominic Leone’s contract from Triple-A and optioned righty Nick Tropeano. The recently-acquired Sam Delaplane was also moved to the 60-day injured list.

The well-traveled Leone has a 4.09 career ERA over 253 career innings for the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Cardinals, and Indians, for whom he pitched in 2020. Tropeano, 30, pitched well in four appearances, giving up just one earned run in six innings. He threw two scoreless against the Angels on Monday, so his demotion could simply be about getting a fresh arm in the bullpen.

The Giants also made a change behind the plate, placing Curt Casali on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist sprain. He’s not expected to be out for more than the 10-game minimum, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Those hoping to see top prospect Joey Bart will be disappointed, however. It’s reasonable to assume that the short-term nature of the injury does not warrant disrupting Bart’s development.

Instead, Chadwick Tromp has been recalled to serve as Buster Posey’s backup behind the plate for the next 10 days. The 26-year-old backstop debuted last season, posting a 65 wRC+ in 64 plate appearances.

Lastly, Crowley adds that Evan Longoria’s injury appears to be a mild intercostal strain, and he’ll avoid a stint on the injured list. Longoria is enjoying a resurgent season at the plate this year with a 139 wRC+ and 1.5 fWAR through 178 plate appearances.

Evan Longoria To Undergo MRI

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Giants third baseman Evan Longoria exited their win over the Angels on Monday with soreness in his right side. Longoria will undergo an MRI on Tuesday, though he’s hopeful that he isn’t dealing with a serious injury, Maria Guardado of MLB.com tweets.

The Giants entered 2021 mired in a four-year playoff drought, while Longoria has struggled of late in his own right, but the two have come alive again. San Francisco is 34-20, a half-game up in the National League West race, and Longoria has been one of its top contributors. The 35-year-old, formerly a standout with Tampa Bay, saw his numbers drop precipitously over the past few seasons, but the three-time All-Star has looked more like his younger self in 2021. He went 2-for-2 with a home run on Monday, raising his line to an outstanding .274/.360/.510 (140 wRC+) with nine homers in 178 plate appearances this season. Longoria’s success doesn’t seem to be a fluke, either, as he ranks near the top of the majors in most relevant Statcast categories.

San Francisco, which replaced Longoria with Mauricio Dubon on Monday, can only hope he will avoid a stint on the injured list. The Giants already have a few infielders on the IL in first basemen Brandon Belt and Darin Ruf and second baseman Tommy La Stella, the latter of whom won’t return until at least July.

Injury Notes: Crawford, Longoria, Rendon, Nola, Giolito

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The Giants made Brandon Crawford a late scratch from yesterday’s lineup due to quad tightness.  Evan Longoria also missed his second consecutive game with hamstring tightness, after the same issue forced him to make an early exit from last Thursday’s game.  To add some extra infield help, the Giants called up Jason Vosler from the alternate training site prior to yesterday’s game (reliever Jarlin Garcia was placed on the 10-day IL with a left groin strain).

San Francisco has more infield depth than most clubs, though even the Giants’ roster has been stressed with Crawford and Longoria both hurting and Donovan Solano already on the injured list recovering from a calf strain.  Mauricio Dubon is the top choice to fill in at shortstop if Crawford has to miss any more time, while Wilmer Flores has been handling third base in Longoria’s absence.  It also creates an opportunity for Vosler, who made his MLB debut last night.  The 27-year-old was a 16th-round pick for the Cubs back in 2014, and Vosler has spent his minor league career in the Cubs and Padres farm systems, also spending time at San Diego’s alternate training site in 2020.

The latest on some other injury situations from around baseball…

  • Anthony Rendon could return to the Angels’ lineup tomorrow or Tuesday, manager Joe Maddon told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters.  Rendon hit the 10-day IL due to a left groin strain back on April 12, so the third baseman will likely end up missing only slightly more than the 10-day minimum.  Anaheim’s already-strong offense will be even more dangerous with the addition of a former All-Star in Rendon, who is entering his second season with the team.
  • Austin Nola could return to the Padres lineup next week, manager Jayce Tingler told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune).  Nola has been out since mid-March after fracturing his left middle finger in Spring Training, though Nola is playing games at the Padres’ alternate training site.  San Diego has relied upon Victor Caratini and top prospect Luis Campusano to handle catching duties in Nola’s absence, though neither Caratini or Campusano have been very productive at the plate.
  • Michael Kopech will start for the White Sox today rather than originally-scheduled starter Lucas Giolito, who told reporters (including Vinnie Duber of NBC Sports Chicago) he has been “pushed back a couple of days” due to a cut on the middle finger of his throwing hand.  As Giolito explained in self-deprecating fashion, he suffered the minor injury because “I thought that a glass water bottle I had was twist-off, and it wasn’t twist-off.”  The team decided to hold Giolito out of today’s start just to be cautious, and the right-hander expects to pitch Tuesday when the White Sox open a series against the Tigers.

Injury Notes: Longoria, Urias, Whitley

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Evan Longoria made his spring training debut today at designated hitter, but it might be some time until he’s regularly taking grounders at third. He’s working his way back from plantar fasciitis, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter). This is an injury that has plagued Longoria in the past, and it does have a tendency to linger. The Giants have no reason to rush Longoria, who hit .254/.297/.425 in 2020. The Giants built up their infield depth this winter. Tommy La Stella is the most likely to see time at third while Longoria is out with Donovan Solano staying at the keystone. If the injury lingers, San Francisco could also use the opportunity to get extra at-bats for Wilmer Flores.

  • Luis Urias will be out for a day or two with a hamstring injury, but it’s “very minor” and unlikely to affect his playing time beyond the next couple of days, per the Athletic’s Will Sammon (via Twitter). Urias is looking to take advantage of an opportunity to win the everyday shortstop job in Milwaukee. The Brewers are clearly comfortable playing Orlando Arcia and Travis Shaw on the left side of the infield, but they’d like to see Urias in one of those spots. Arcia has been moved around this spring for the first time in his career in an effort to give Urias more training at short.
  • Forrest Whitley is again having a tough spring. His arrival in camp was initially delayed because of coronavirus intake protocols, and now he’s dealing with a sore arm, writes MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Whitley has struggled to get healthy and produce as expected for a top prospect, but there is still hope that he will establish himself at some point in 2021. He is on the Astros’ 40-man roster now, and while the stakes seem high for 2021, Whitley is still only 23 years old.

Giants Designate Dany Jimenez, Option Jaylin Davis

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The Giants announced a series of roster moves Thursday, as they optioned outfielders Jaylin Davis and Joe McCarthy to their alternate training site, designated Rule 5 right-hander Dany Jimenez for assignment and recalled Steven Duggar. Meanwhile, corner infielders Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria were activated from the injured list.

Jimenez, 26, was selected out of the Blue Jays organization in December’s Rule 5 Draft, but his brief time with the Giants didn’t go particularly well. He allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings of work and walked three of the eight batters he faced. Jimenez threw only 37 pitches with the Giants, and fewer than half of those offerings were strikes. The righty was certainly impressive in the minors last year — albeit against younger competition. In 59 2/3 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, Jimenez notched a 2.59 ERA with 14.2 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9.

Jimenez will be put through waivers now, and if he’s claimed by another club, he’d retain his Rule 5 status with the new team. If Jimenez goes unclaimed, he’ll be offered back to the Blue Jays. The two clubs could also work out a trade that’d allow the Giants to retain Jimenez’s rights as a non-roster player who’d no longer be tied to Rule 5 roster limitations.

It’s a bit of a surprise to see Davis sent down, as the Giants appear high on the 26-year-old slugger. Acquired from the Twins a year ago in the Sam Dyson swap that proved quite regrettable for Minnesota — Dyson had a shoulder injury he’d not disclosed to the Giants or Twins that required surgery — Davis has gotten out to a slow start. He’s appeared in four games and gone just 2-for-12 with a solo home run and six strikeouts. Today’s move notwithstanding, the Giants will surely want to take a longer look at Davis after he decimated minor league pitching to the tune of a .306/.397/.590 slash last year. It seems likely that he’ll be up again in the not-too-distant future, but for now he’ll work at the team’s alternate site while Duggar gets another go-around at the MLB level.

Giants Expect To Activate Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria

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The Giants expect to welcome back their missing corner infield duo, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter). Barring a surprise, Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria will be back in action tomorrow.

It’s generally promising not only that both players are now ready to roll but also that they only required the minimum necessary stay on the injured list. Belt has been working through a heel issue while Longoria is nursing a mild oblique problem. It seems in both cases the team has nipped things in the bud.

While the Giants aren’t expected to make much noise in 2020, it’s easy to overlook how important the season is with respect to these players in particular. Both have been highly productive players in the past, which is why they’re earning so much now.

Belt is under contract for $16MM annually in 2020 and 2021. Longoria is earning at a $15MM rate this year before successive $18.5MM and $19.5MM salaries (as well as a 2023 club option that can be bought out for $5MM, which the Rays will pay down by $3MM).

The Giants will obviously be in much better shape to the extent that these two one-time sluggers can regain some of their former glory. That said, it may be be tough to move a significant portion of these contracts even in the best-case scenario.

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