A balky left knee has forced shortstop Brandon Crawford to the injured list, putting their middle infield depth even more into focus.
In the near future, the Giants will have rookies Casey Schmitt and Brett Wisely available to play shortstop and second base primarily. They have a 61 and 50 OPS+ respectively, with 100 representing a league average hitter.
Crawford’s injured list designation is retroactive to July 17. San Francisco recalled infielder David Villar to replace him, but Villar is a better option at third base than second.
Crawford, 36, has dealt with hamstring and side discomfort this season. He told The San Francisco Chronicle that this knee issue is similar to the one that knocked him out of spring training and required a cortisone shot.
As the oldest regular starting shortstop in baseball, an injury right out of the All-Star break is of particular concern. Crawford got an extended break because the team sat him for the past two games before the layoff, but the stop-and-start didn’t do him any favors.
On the season, Crawford is hitting .207 with a .618 OPS — both the lowest since he was a 24-year-old rookie in 2011. The 13-year-veteran is in the last of a two-year extension he earned during his tremendous 2021 campaign.
Before the All-Star break, Crawford told KNBR.com that he had been feeling more confident at the plate after a pregame routine tweak and hoped to carry the momentum into the second half. The knee injury disrupts that objective.
With Crawford shelved, the Giants will turn internally to Schmitt and Wisely. Neither have been consistently productive from the plate, though Wisely’s at-bats have been more competitive recently and Schmitt’s bat-to-ball skills flashed initially when he first debuted. The Giants are high on both rookies and want to give them opportunities.
But adding a hitter who can play up the middle at the trade deadline should be more and more appealing.
“Got to kind of keep an eye on the market there, see if there’s someone we think could be impactful there, and weigh that against continuing to give opportunities to Casey and Brett,” SFG president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said of the trade deadline.
Thairo Estrada has been the Giants’ best option at both shortstop and second base this season and is currently rehabbing from a fractured left hand in Arizona. He could return to the lineup toward the middle of August.
But even Estrada has struggled. In 23 games since June, he has hit .217 with a .665 OPS. He adds value defensively, is a base-stealing threat and has cemented his place in the Giants’ future plans, but the Giants could look to upgrade over even him.
The trade deadline is at Aug. 1. As undefined as San Francisco’s starting rotation has been, middle infield is clearly an area of need. Crawford’s health only exacerbates that.