The Giants have struggled against left-handed pitching, and won’t get two of their strongest right-handed bats back for at least the next week.
Outfielders Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater are unlikely to return from the 10-day injured list on San Francisco’s upcoming road trip, manager Gabe Kapler said Tuesday. After the Dodgers series wraps up Wednesday, the Giants head to Detroit and then Miami for a six-game trip through April 19.
“Both of those guys are progressing nicely and doing baseball activity,” Kapler said. “I don’t think we’re going to get them on the road. Chance that one or both of them is in Sacramento while we’re on the road trip and back the next time we’re home. Both of those guys are working hard, trending in the right direction.”
Haniger did some field work in the outfield before San Francisco’s game at Oracle Park Tuesday evening. Slater hit in the cage.
Both outfielders have been sidelined since spring training. Slater played three Cactus League games due to soreness in his right elbow, and then strained his hamstring once he returned. Haniger, meanwhile, suffered a mild oblique strain that he didn’t anticipate forcing him to miss much time. Then, his back flared up and delayed his progress; an MRI revealed inflammation but no structural damage.
Haniger had a microdiscectomy surgery in 2020 for a herniated disc, but missed only four games with back issues since, he said.
Now Haniger, a Mountain View native, has had to watch the Giants face the Dodgers for the first time this year.
“It sucks,” Haniger said. “Not how I imagined my first month with the Giants going. At the same time, just trying to focus on what I can control. At the same time: help guys and make sure I’m talking baseball. If I can help any player in any way, that’s kind of what your role is when you’re hurt. Focus on your body getting healthy, getting right, and also being there for your teammates.”
The Giants signed Haniger to a three-year, $43.5 million contract this winter to make him their biggest free agent acquisition. He missed almost all of 2019 and the entirety of 2020 with a rash of unfortunate injuries. Then he returned in 2021 to hit 39 home runs, only to have another injury-plagued season last year.
“I feel really thankful and blessed that the guys in the training room are really good, they’re really detailed,” Haniger said. “I feel like they’ve had a great plan for me. I’d like to play tonight or at the start of the home stand, but unfortunately my back flared up and I had to slow things down. But I’m just really happy that I’m with folks here who know what they’re doing.”
Haniger said he’s trying to get familiar with the outfielders and ramp up his hitting, fielding and running. He and Slater will both require rehab assignments.
Without the two right-handed hitting outfielders, the Giants recalled Heliot Ramos and have played the switch-hitting Bryce Johnson more frequently than they normally would.
As a team against left-handed pitching this year, the Giants are hitting .188. They’ve struck out 36 times in 93 plate appearances (38.7%).
From 2021 to 2022, Slater posted a .861 OPS against left-handed pitching — ranking 54th among players with at least 100 plate appearances in that platoon advantage. Haniger ranks 41st on that leaderboard with an .885 OPS over the past two seasons against lefties.
The Giants certainly miss both. And they will on Wednesday against lefty Clayton Kershaw and in Detroit, where the Tigers may throw two southpaws in three games.
Haniger’s absence, in particular, stings given this is how his Giants tenure has kicked off. By the time the Giants return from the Detroit-Miami road trip, the outfielders will have missed the first 18 games of the season.
“I feel really confident and comfortable that I’ll be back soon and I’ll be back healthy and ready to go,” Haniger said.