Regardless of a powerful late-winter effort to beef up their roster by including big-name free brokers Jorge Soler, Matt Chapman, and Blake Snell in February and March, the Giants have stumbled out of the gate. They haven’t even been at .500 since March 31, after they have been 2-2, and now they’re 19-24 and within the midst of an unrelenting wave of accidents that has thinned their roster. Essentially the most severe is that of Jung Hoo Lee, who dislocated his left shoulder attempting to make a run-saving catch in Sunday’s win over the Reds and might be out for a number of weeks, and even months.
The play occurred within the high of the primary inning at Oracle Park, after the Reds loaded the bases towards starter Kyle Harrison on a hit-by-pitch, two steals, a throwing error, and a stroll. With two outs, Jeimer Candelario hit a excessive 104-mph drive to deep middle discipline. On the warning observe, Lee leaped for the ball, however it bounced off the padding on high of the wall as a substitute of hitting his glove. On his means down, he smacked his left forearm into the padding; his elbow after which his again each hit the chain hyperlink fence (!) beneath the padding, jamming his left shoulder. He went down laborious as all three runners scored, and after a number of minutes on the bottom, left the sport accompanied by head athletic coach Dave Groeschner, who held Lee’s arm in place.
Although supervisor Bob Melvin initially indicated that the 25-year-old middle fielder had separated his shoulder, the Giants later clarified that he had dislocated it, indicating a extra severe harm. Lee underwent an MRI on Monday, however a extra detailed prognosis gained’t be identified till no less than Tuesday after he and the Giants seek the advice of with Dr. Ken Akizuki, the crew’s orthopedic surgeon. The Giants are hopeful that Lee gained’t want surgical procedure, in contrast to Purple Sox shortstop Trevor Story, who on April 5 dislocated his left shoulder whereas diving for a ball and moreover suffered a fracture of the glenoid rim, an harm that required season-ending surgical procedure. There’s been no report of a fracture but for Lee, however soft-tissue harm might be one other matter.
[Update: Indeed, on Tuesday evening, the Giants confirmed that Lee has suffered structural damage in his shoulder. He will get a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on Thursday, indicating that surgery is a possibility.]
Lee’s harm occurred in his first inning again on the sector after lacking three video games as a result of he fouled a ball off his left foot. It’s the most recent in a string of accidents that took down seven San Francisco place gamers — together with 5 regulars — in a 10-day span:
- On Could 3 towards the Phillies, catcher Patrick Bailey was hit within the face masks by a foul ball. Affected by blurred imaginative and prescient, he got here out of the sport and was positioned on the seven-day concussion IL the subsequent day; he was activated on Saturday.
- On Could 4 towards the Phillies, a day after taking on for Bailey, catcher Tom Murphy felt a pop in his left knee whereas attempting to dam a wild pitch and left the sport. An MRI revealed he had suffered a Grade 1-2 sprain that can sideline him for 4 to 6 weeks; he went on the 10-day IL the subsequent day.
- On Could 8, after lacking three video games, Soler landed on the IL because of a proper shoulder pressure that he suffered throughout his closing plate look on Could 4. He’s already begun a hitting development and the Giants are hopeful he’ll miss solely the minimal period of time.
- On Could 9, shortstop Nick Ahmed left a sport towards the Rockies within the fourth inning because of discomfort in his left wrist, traceable to his taking a 108-mph liner off of it on April 27. He was identified with a sprain and positioned on the 10-day IL; the hope is that he’ll be again later this month.
- On Could 10, whereas filling in for Lee, middle fielder Austin Slater left a sport towards the Reds after crashing into the middle discipline wall and experiencing concussion-like signs. He was positioned on the seven-day IL the subsequent day.
- On Could 11 towards the Reds, left fielder Michael Conforto got here up limping after hitting a single. He left the sport, and an MRI revealed that he’d suffered a proper hamstring pressure. He was positioned on the 10-day IL the subsequent day.
That litany doesn’t even account for the truth that that Snell and fellow starters Tristan Beck, Alex Cobb, and Robbie Ray are all on the IL as nicely. The absences of Cobb and Ray have been deliberate, as they entered the season nonetheless recuperating from main surgical procedures. Beck underwent surgical procedure in March to take away an aneurysm in his proper shoulder, whereas Snell, who didn’t signal with the Giants till March 19, made simply three begins totaling 11.2 innings earlier than touchdown on the IL because of a left adductor pressure; he’s slated for yet one more rehab begin earlier than returning.
Due to a 2-7 skid from March 31–April 9, the Giants had slipped beneath .500 lengthy earlier than this brutal stretch, and so they’re 4-7 because it started; they gained Sunday’s sport on a Tenth-inning walk-off ground-rule double by Casey Schmitt, his first hit in 12 plate appearances after being recalled to fill in for Ahmed. That was San Francisco’s second straight victory, however it hasn’t been in a position to string collectively three in a row all season. Each different crew within the majors, together with the pitiful Marlins (11-32), White Sox (12-29), and Rockies (13-28) — the final of whom is at present on a five-game tear — has gained no less than three in a row as soon as. That’s gotta harm.
The accidents don’t absolutely account for the Giants’ struggles on either side of the ball, however they don’t assist. The crew’s offense ranks ninth within the NL with a 95 wRC+ and twelfth in scoring at 3.79 runs per sport. Solely three of their regulars have a wRC+ of 100 or higher, particularly LaMonte Wade Jr. (171), Conforto (136), and Bailey (126). Soler has hit for an underwhelming 92 wRC+, however 4 regulars are within the 70s or decrease: Chapman and Mike Yastrzemski (each 73), Wilmer Flores (72), and Ahmed (65).
As for Lee, he’s scuffled a bit throughout his first stateside season after signing a six-year, $113 million deal final December following a stellar seven-year run with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes. From April 21 via Could 2, he went 5-for-33 with out an extra-base hit or an RBI, and scored only one run — not what you need out of your leadoff hitter (although, to be honest, he led off in solely seven of his 9 begins throughout that stretch). Total, Lee is hitting a modest .262/.310/.331 with two homers, two steals, and an 89 wRC+ in 158 plate appearances. That’s nicely wanting the .288/.345/.414 (120 wRC+) that our Depth Charts projected from him, however curiously sufficient, that forecast is a useless ringer for his .284 xBA and his .416 xSLG. His 85-point shortfall in slugging proportion ranks thirty fifth out of 270 qualifying hitters, whereas his 36-point shortfall in wOBA ranks 56th.
As marketed, Lee is a contact-oriented hitter — with a 6.3% stroll price and eight.2% strikeout price — however his contact has been middling. His 89.1 mph common exit velocity locations within the 51st percentile, and his 41.8% hard-hit price within the 56th percentile, however his 4.5% barrel price ranks in simply the twenty first percentile. When he’s hit the ball laborious, it’s usually on the bottom, although his 47% groundball price is way decrease than the 59% of his KBO days. Whereas he’s pulled 10 fly balls, his .889 slugging proportion on them locations him in simply the twenty second percentile among the many 108 hitters with no less than 10 such batted balls.
That most likely has a good bit to do with enjoying at Oracle Park, which primarily based on present situations is lowering the projected distance of pulled fly balls by 3.8 ft primarily based upon temperature, elevation, and different environmental components accounted for, per Statcast. That’s practically double the discount occurring at T-Cellular Park, the place the marine layer and different components are serving to to suppress the Mariners’ offense (and assist their pitching) after they’re at residence.
As for Conforto, the 31-year-old lefty has hit .280/.331/.490 with a team-high seven homers, a welcome show of energy after he slugged .384 in each 2021 and ’23, with a season misplaced to surgical procedure to restore his proper rotator cuff, labrum, and shoulder capsule sandwiched between these campaigns. He’s been uncharacteristically free-swinging, chasing 33.7% of pitches exterior of the zone (up 5 factors from final 12 months and 6 from his profession norm) and strolling in simply 7.1% of his plate appearances (down over 4 factors from final 12 months and practically 5 from his profession norm). His 89.2 mph common exit velocity, 9.9% barrel price, and .495 xSLG are all his greatest marks since 2019, whereas his 44.1% hard-hit price is his greatest since his 56-game rookie season in ’15.
With Conforto, Lee, and Slater all sidelined, the Giants have needed to dig into their depth chart to fill out their outfield. Earlier than Monday’s sport towards the Dodgers, Melvin mentioned that Luis Matos and Heliot Ramos would be the starters in middle and left for now. Every is a former high 100 prospect who made two appearances on our listing (2021 and ’22 for the previous, ’20 and ’21 for the latter).
Matos, a righty-swinging 22-year-old, was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday to exchange Conforto. He entered final season as the Giants’ high prospect, however after arising in mid-June hit simply .250/.319/.342 (87 wRC+) in 253 PA and performed a below-average middle discipline as nicely (-5.5 UZR, -6 FRV, -9 DRS) en path to -0.3 WAR. He performed only one sport with the crew this 12 months, on March 31, earlier than being despatched to Sacramento, the place he batted a meager .218/.308/.355 (66 wRC+) in 143 PA, however he made his affect felt on Monday evening, clubbing a towering three-run homer off the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto within the second inning.
The righty-swinging Ramos, 24, is a former first-round choose whose outlook has pale as he’s stuffed out bodily and proven below-average plate self-discipline and in-zone contact means; as soon as a 50 FV prospect, he was a 35+ as of final 12 months’s in-season replace. His profession has roughly stalled out in Sacramento, the place he’s hit .262/.337/.431 (89 wRC+) whereas placing out 25.4% of the time in 1,101 PA over the previous 4 seasons. Within the majors he’s hit simply .183/.240/.269 (44 wRC+) with a 33% strikeout price in 100 PA. On a constructive word, he was hitting .296/.388/.565 (131 wRC+) with eight homers in 134 PA this 12 months earlier than being recalled, however he was additionally placing out 27.6% of the time.
Superutilitymen Tyler Fitzgerald and Brett Correctly, the latter of whom was recalled to exchange Slater, will present some assist within the outfield, and Blake Sabol, who was recalled to exchange Bailey, might as nicely provided that the Giants added a 3rd catcher in Jakson Reetz after they positioned Lee on the IL; as a Rule 5 choose final 12 months, Sabol performed 43 video games in left discipline and 55 at catcher. However Matos’ residence run apart, not one of the newcomers is more likely to ignite San Francisco’s sputtering offense, and even the upcoming return of Snell can solely achieve this a lot to enhance a workers that ranks thirteenth within the NL in run prevention at 4.74 runs per sport regardless of calling Oracle Park residence. It already feels as if the Giants’ season is slipping away. They’ll need to hope issues don’t worsen with the prolonged lack of Lee.