Mitch Haniger has a fractured forearm
The good health seemed too good to be true. And indeed, it was. The San Francisco Giants suffered a tough injury during Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, with left fielder Mitch Haniger fracturing his right forearm when he was hit by a Jack Flaherty pitch in the third inning.
To add insult to injury, the play occurred exactly one pitch after J.D. Davis sprained his ankle trying to go first to third on a single.
Brutal.
With a runner on first with two outs and the Giants holding a 3-2 lead, Haniger stepped into the box and took an 88-mph sinker off the inside of his forearm. He was in obvious pain and, after only the briefest exchange with trainer Dave Groeschner, left the game. That’s usually not a good sign.
Since MLB clubhouses are equipped with x-ray machines, the Giants were able to take a look at Haniger’s injury right away. And it was only a few innings later that they delivered the rough news.
It’s yet another tough break for Haniger, who has suffered serious injuries from everything from ... well, this, to ... uhh ... a ruptured testicle.
Haniger signed with his hometown Giants in the offseason, but missed most of Spring Training, and the first few weeks of the season due to an oblique strain. He made his season and franchise debut on April 24, and scuffled quite a bit. But he had really started to find a rhythm prior to the injury: in his last 15 games, Haniger hit .288/.354/.492.
We’ll have to wait for a more extensive injury update from the Giants, but it seems pretty safe to assume that a forearm fracture is going to sideline a hitter and right-handed thrower for a pretty significant amount of time. I’d guess that we’re looking at a stint on the 60-day IL, and it’s no sure thing that Haniger will return this season.
Injuries are never good, but if there’s one injury that the Giants seem built to weather, it’s one to a right-handed hitting outfielder. Center field prospect Luis Matos, who was pulled from AAA Sacramento’s game just a few minutes after Haniger’s injury (but not before hitting his sixth home run in as many games) is the hottest Minor Leaguer on the planet, and the Giants were already surely looking for ways to get him onto the roster. This is not the way they wanted to do it, but it’s certainly why depth is a good thing.
Expect Matos to be in the lineup for Wednesday’s game, and expect Haniger and his Since ‘84 walkup music to be absent for quite a while.
Heal up, Mitch. Better days ahead.
Source: McCovey Chronicles
