LOS ANGELES — Evan Longoria came into Dodger Stadium Sunday feeling sore and sad. The 36-year-old is trying to stay positive, but his frequent visits to the injured list — this year and as a Giant — have a way of being dejecting.
Longoria is getting an MRI on Monday in Arizona, but already knows, at least somewhat, what to expect: rehab, recovery, discomfort and more frustration.
“Off-on, off-on. It’s frustrating,” Longoria said Sunday.
The Giants activated reliever Gregory Santos after officially placing Longoria on the IL, which was a formality. Without their veteran third baseman, the Giants are starting rookie David Villar at third. Wilmer Flores is playing second, with Thairo Estrada at short and Darin Ruf at first.
Villar, Flores, and Tommy La Stella — currently on a rehab assignment — will factor in as Longoria is likely sidelined for multiple weeks. This is Longoria’s third IL stint of the season.
Longoria said he feels like he prepares his body to hold up with hydrating, weight room work, sleeping, and other preparation. He didn’t feel sore or tight before his right hamstring grabbed when he lunged for first base in the third inning of Saturday’s game.
Perhaps he should try to scale back on the sprinting at times, he theorized. But that’s not how he’s ever played the game.
“Maybe when I come back, I’ll try to tone it back a little bit and finish the year strong and healthy,” Longoria said. “But we are where we are now.”
His hamstring didn’t pop, Longoria said, which is an encouraging sign for a speedy recovery. He’s had lots of experience with hamstring injuries, including surgery on his left leg, and is optimistic this won’t keep him out for longer than a month.
Longoria experienced essentially a clean bill of health for the first 10 years of his career, all with the Tampa Bay Rays. But since joining the Giants in 2018, his injured list history looks like a game of Operation. Ankle, fractured hand, shoulder, foot, oblique, glute, hamstring, shoulder, side, hand, finger, groin, oblique, hamstring.
Losing Longoria is still a blow on several fronts. The most senior player in the clubhouse was also hitting in the middle of San Francisco’s order with a .790 OPS and provided a steady hand at the hot corner.
Longoria, Brandon Crawford and Tommy La Stella are now all currently unavailable. First baseman Brandon Belt has also spent time on the injured list this year and has been relegated to DH duty at times because of a sore knee.
Their expected starting infield of Longoria, Crawford, Belt and La Stella has played together just once in 2022. Defense is the biggest factor holding the Giants back, and a lack of continuity surely plays a hand in that.
“It’s been a challenge, but not an insurmountable one,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “It’s all challenging, and at the same time it’s all something that’s part of our job: to be good under those circumstances.”
The Giants’ coaching staff views the club’s defensive shortcomings as a stimulating problem to solve. Kapler said they’re trying to toggle workout intensities and balance rest with training. Doing the little things like turning an extra double play, hitting the cutoff man and covering first base can go a long way.
“There’s no switch you can flip,” Kapler said.
And while the coaching staff can work overtime, the Giants could be limited by their personnel. Flores is fundamentally sound, but has never been the rangiest fielder. Estrada makes the hard plays look easy and the easy ones look hard. Yermín Mercedes is starting in left field for the Dodgers series finale one game after coughing up a routine ball. Darin Ruf, starting at first, is more suited for a DH role.
Villar, the rookie, is unproven defensively. He didn’t appear on top prospect lists preseason, but surged through Double-A Richmond last year and continued to display an all-around game with the River Cats in 2022. Gabe Kapler said internally, the Giants were always impressed with Villar. He’s said multiple times recently that the 25-year-old has a chance to play an important role in the club’s future.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for him to establish himself in the way that Luis González or LaMonte Wade Jr. have done,” Kapler said.
La Stella is playing a third rehab game Sunday, and could be rushed back to the big club sooner than originally planned because of Longoria’s injury. But Clayton Kershaw on the mound Sunday and lefty Tyler Gilbert taking the ball in Arizona Monday aren’t perfect matchups for him. The Diamondbacks are projected to throw two righties later in the three-game series.
La Stella, Flores and Villar could each play third base. But none of them are Longoria, whose absence will be felt in the clubhouse, too.
“Nobody’s more experienced on our roster,” Kapler said. “Longo has been through a lot in his career, been around a lot of great players. The last time he was on the IL, I asked him, I said ‘don’t go away.’ Because he is emotional. He is frustrated. This does suck for him. So it’s going to be extra challenging for him to stay in these moments. He’s still got a lot of value to our club. I lean on him. I lean on his perspective all the time. We’re going to miss him if he’s not able to bring that, and we will ask him to.”