SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants weren’t too surprised to learn they’d be without first baseman Brandon Belt for a while.
The unexpected news about an hour and a half before the first pitch on Friday night is that they would be fine without catcher Buster Posey.
Belt has failed indefinitely with an infection in the right knee. Posey was a surprising scratch with tightness in the lower back. It is not known whether Posey’s move was a precautionary measure, as manager Gabe Kapler had already got to know the media when the announcement was made.
The belt was put on the 10-day casualty list, but the numbers are much longer, with Kapler saying surgery was possible at one point.
With Belt at the beginning of a rehab process, outfielder / first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. from Sacramento was called back and was available when the Giants opened the Bay Bridge Series against the Athletics in Oracle Park on Friday night.
Belt was injured in Anaheim’s 9-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. He was trying to go from first to third on a Donovan Solano single, and when third baseman Anthony Rendon’s litter went away, Belt started for the record.
He was thrown out easily, never tried to slide, and then went down to be examined by the training staff. It didn’t look good then, and it didn’t look much better when Kapler saw Belt walk into the clubhouse on Thursday.
« He didn’t move that much, » said Kapler in his first personal press conference before the game of the season. “I asked him how he was doing and he was honest. I don’t think he’s doing very well in this regard, but I think he also understands that it’s important that he will help us a lot this season and that the first parts of this rehab will be important so that he can get started right away can. »
Whether this is wishful thinking or not remains to be seen in the next few days. When asked directly whether Belt could be operated on, Kapler said, « I think the concerns are there, yes. »
Belt, who used to work for I.L. with an oblique load, hit .253 with 11 homers and 28 RBIs with 28 walks and an OPS of 0.812. He’d even hit base twice in the last two games, on bunts against an overlaid defense.
« He’s disappointed, » said Kapler. « I think he understands that this is probably not a 10-day injury. »
Posey, whom the Giants carefully guided through the season to maintain his health and who is the leading vote winner in his position for the National League All-Star team, was originally in the line-up against Athletics and fourth.
About 90 minutes before the start of the game, however, the Giants announced that Posey would be out. A new line-up was submitted with Curt Casali catching and hitting eighth.
Wade’s return to Sacramento after his option to Triple-A took exactly one game before he found his way back to San Francisco. He played left field and first base in an 8-0 win over Reno on Thursday, hit a home run and went 1v2.
« You never want to come back like this, » said Wade. “I hope he’s fine. I hope he can come back because we really need him. I’ll help him and do my best while he’s gone. »
Wade’s demotion was at least a slight surprise, as he did surprisingly well both on the outfield and in the first base.
« He’s as professional as it gets and I think he also understands the landscape well, » said Kapler. “One thing we discussed was that there may not be that many at-bats for him if the full list and the belt are perfectly healthy. So it made sense to give him a few regular repetitions in case something like this happened.
« Now he has a pretty meaningful way to get not only the first few bases on bats, but the bats off the bench and some outfield reps. »
Even if Wade is a more capable first baseman than expected, Belt’s ability will make itself felt in this position.
« As good as LaMonte and as good as (Darin) Ruff is over there, Brandon Belt is another level when it comes to footwork and putting yourself in a good position to take care of the other infielder on the diamond to worry about, « said Kapler.
– Third baseman Evan Longoria (left shoulder sprain) is starting to take shape, but as Kapler explained, “The fact that he does live baseball activity is promising. That doesn’t mean his return is imminent. »
– Second baseman Tommy LaStella (left Achilles tendon) pinched his thumb during a training session. X-rays were negative and Kapler did not see this as a long-term problem.
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