The San Francisco Giants (20-25) haven't gotten off to the start that they had hoped for, and now they've gotten dealt an even bigger blow. Briefly after outfielder Jorge Soler returned from the 10-day IL, the team officially lost another outfielder for the season.
Jung Hoo Lee was diagnosed with a torn labrum and will have season-ending shoulder surgery, via Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.
Lee had gotten off to a promising start in his rookie season, slashing .262/.310/.331 with two homers and 8 RBI. The 25-year-old crashed his left shoulder into a wall during Sunday's contest against the Cincinnati Reds and was initially diagnosed with a dislocation. However, Lee then went to Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion Thursday, who discovered the structural damage.
Lee lamented the unfortunate development, via Yahoo Sports' Alex Pavlovic.
“This is not how I thought about ending my rooking season,” he said through interpreter Justin Han. “For all of the baseball career I've had, this could be one of the most disappointing seasons I've had. For now, I'm just trying to think about it optimistically and try to think about not the past, but the future.”
In lighter news, though, Soler looks to have healed from multiple ailments. The 32-year-old was initially sidelined with a shoulder injury but was then struck in the head by his foul ball during batting practice on Tuesday, via Bleacher Report.
How will San Francisco recover from this chaos?
Soler will have to step up for the Giants in Lee's absence
Soler hasn't been exceptional at the plate to begin the campaign after signing a three-year, $42 million deal with the club this past offseason. The Cuban international is slashing .202/.294/.361, with five homers and 8 RBI. Left fielder Michael Conforto has been the Giants outfielder with standout numbers, slashing .280/.331/.490 with seven homers and 20 RBI.
With Lee now out for the year, San Francisco's outfield depth takes a significant hit. Unless the club makes a move for another player soon, it will rely even more heavily on Conforto, Soler, and right fielder Mike Yastrzemski, who's slashing .223/.286/.379 with four homers and 14 RBI.
Luckily, Soler has historically played above the level he's been at recently. The former Miami Marlin slashed .250/.341/.512 last year, to go with 36 homers and 75 RBI.
As if these moves weren't enough, the Giants had even more roster action on Friday, via Giants beat reporter Amy Gutierrez.
“Giants Roster Moves: RHP Mason Black (#47) recalled from AAA, RHP Keaton Winn placed on the 15-day Injured List (retroactive to May 15) with a right forearm strain,” tweeted Gutierrez. “OF Jorge Soler returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the 10-day IL, IF Casey Schmitt optioned to AAA.”
Winn will look to improve on a horrific start to his season. The 26-year-old is 3-6 with a 6.17 ERA and 1.30 WHIP across 42.1 innings pitched. He has had the worst campaign by far amongst San Francisco's starting pitchers at this point, at least for the ones who have played the majority of the season.
Black will start Friday night's game against the Colorado Rockies, as Blake Snell continues to rehab in the minor leagues. Shmitt was sent down after struggling to start the year, slashing .136/.136/.182/. This makes room for 22-year-old shortstop Marco Luciano to get more playing time.
The Giants, who are 8.5 games out of first place in the NL Central, can't afford much more misfortune before the wheels fall off completely.
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