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Stacked as the odds may be against them, the San Francisco Giants are hanging tight in the NL West standings. In fact, the Giants are fresh off an 8-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, the owner of the best record in the MLB at the moment. However, the Giants continue to endure some misfortune on the injury front. Lamonte Wade Jr., coming off an absence on May 26 due to hamstring injury, unfortunately re-aggravated this knock of his after sliding towards second base in an attempt to break up the double play in the fifth inning of their win vs. the Phillies.
Wade, in addition to missing the Giants' 4-3 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday, was limited to pinch-hitting duties on the 25th due to the same hamstring injury. Now, it appears as though Wade's return was rushed, and in turn, he may now be looking at an extended absence. Per manager Bob Melvin, via ESPN, Wade “will undergo an MRI and is likely headed to the injured list”.
Lamonte Wade Jr. only adds even further to the injury woes that have plagued the Giants all season long. Wade is yet another everyday player that will be missing at least ten days of action, joining the likes of Michael Conforto and Jung Hoo Lee as the high profile batters who are currently on the mend.
Wade is rather unfortunate that he has to miss time. 2024 has been a breakout year of sorts for him after all. He is currently leading the league with an on-base percentage of .470, more than making up for his lackluster power production relative to his peers at the position. In fact, the 30-year old leads the team in WAR among hitters and pitchers combined.
Hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky, so the Giants will have to be very cautious in Wade's recovery. His return to 100 percent will be crucial in their bid to maintain their current standing as a Wild Card team in the NL.
Can Wilmer Flores step up for the Giants amid Lamonte Wade Jr.'s injury?
After Lamonte Wade Jr. went out after re-aggravating his hamstring injury, the Giants turned to veteran utility man Wilmer Flores to fill his Wade's position. Flores has some pop in his bat; he has hit 72 home runs for the Giants entering the 2024 season, but this campaign has been a struggle so far for the 32-year old.
Flores has hit just one home run in 148 plate appearances thus far this season, and he has struggled to contribute much of anything from the plate. He is currently slashing .214/.284/.290, for an OPS of .574. His quality of contact has declined precipitously through this point of the 2024 season, and the baseball gods haven't exactly been smiling at him seeing as he has a batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .237.
There is reason to expect Wilmer Flores to regress to the mean, which means that improvement might be around the corner for him. In his first four years with the Giants, he has been a positive contributor after all. But given how many Giants batters have been struggling to get on base thus far this season, losing on-base machine Lamonte Wade Jr. for an extended period for a feast or famine hitter in Flores will sting.
Hopefully for the Giants, Wade puts his hamstring issues completely in the rearview mirror as they look to remain competitive for the rest of 2024.
