The Giants are bracing to start the 2023 season without two pillars of their outfield.
Neither Mitch Haniger nor Austin Slater are expected to be ready for Opening Day. Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters in Scottsdale Friday that he doesn’t think Haniger will be ready by next week; Slater’s timetable had already been reported by Bay Area News Group.
“I don’t think (Haniger)’s going to be ready for Opening Day,” Kapler said Friday, via The Mercury News’ Evan Webeck.
Haniger was diagnosed with a Grade 1 left oblique strain on March 12. The team shut him down for a week and has been ramping up his activity since resuming training.
Haniger, 32, was the Giants’ biggest acquisition of the offseason. He signed a three-year, $43.5 million deal. Though he’s battled a slew of fluke injuries, Haniger is an elite hitter when healthy; he hit 39 home runs in 2021.
Slater, meanwhile, is expected to be a key member of the outfield as well as half of San Francisco’s center field platoon with Mike Yastrzemski. Slater only played three Cactus League games because of right elbow neuritis, then his current hamstring strain. According to The Mercury News, the outfielder was given a timetable of three-to-four weeks to return.
Slater hit .264 with a .774 OPS last season.
Without Haniger and Slater, the Giants will likely need to roster Bryce Johnson for outfield depth. Johnson has led all of spring training in stolen bases and is a switch-hitter.
Blake Sabol, a converted outfielder who spent most of his spring working on catching, has seen more time in the outfield lately and will also probably break camp with the team.
On the pitching side, the Giants are mostly healthy. Alex Cobb, projected to pitch in San Francisco’s second game against New York, is reportedly still dealing with some knee discomfort after getting a comebacker and could have his start pushed back.