Yastrzemski to miss time
The good news for Mike Yastrzemski and the Giants on Friday: His MRI results showed a mild right calf strain and he wasn’t placed on the injured list.
The bad news: He could miss an important chunk of games as the Giants push for a National League wild card spot.
“We are going to treat him and consider him day to day for now,” said manager Gabe Kapler, whose lineup for Friday night’s opener in Oakland included Darin Ruf in right field, not close to the defensive equivalent.
Yastrzemski felt “a jolt, a cramp” in the calf while holding up on his swing during the second pitch of his firstinning atbat Thursday. After he struck out, he lifted the leg coming out of the batter’s box.
He exited in the second inning and said Friday he has never had a calf issue to this degree.
“I hope it’s something that will calm down quickly over these next couple of days,” Yastrzemski said, “and then we could make a better evaluation and decision from there.”
Regarding a timetable, he said, “It’ll just be whenever it tells me it’s ready.”
Kapler said a trip to the injured list was considered, but in Yastrzemski’s case, with his extreme value, the Giants decided to wait it out and play a man short for as long as it takes.
“I think Yaz is important enough to this club where we really don’t know how long it’s going to be, whether it’s one, two, three days or more, and we want to ensure we have some optionality there,” Kapler said. “To the degree he’s able to play for us in the coming days, we have to preserve that.”
The Giants made roster moves before Friday night’s game but none involving an outfielder. Relievers Rico Garcia and lefty Wandy Peralta, who have been pitching a lot of innings lately, were optioned to the alternate site in Sacramento, and relievers Shaun Anderson and Andrew Suarez were recalled.
Kapler said there were discussions about promoting an outfielder for the Oakland series — including Steven Duggar, who bats lefthanded like Yastrzemski, or utility man Daniel Robertson, currently on the taxi squad.
Asked about Jaylin Davis and leftyswinging Chris Shaw, Kapler said they’re options as well and added, “Jaylin’s atbats have gotten better. It’s no secret we’re in need of lefthanded bats on the bench, lefthanded bats, period. We’ll continue to evaluate our internal options.”
Without Yastrzemski, the Giants are missing more than a big bat — he’s hitting .285 with nine homers, 33 RBIs and .390 onbase percentage in 49 games. He also has evolved into a team leader.
“The fact that he slots always at the top of our lineup either in the 1 or 3 hole speaks to how important he is to this club,” Kapler said. “It’s going to be tough to not have a guy who hits lefties and righties up there, a guy who can hit for power, who you know is going to be a dependable base runner and defender.
“Yaz does everything well. The thing he’s going to continue to bring is the energy and the grit to the dugout.” That’s Yastrzemski’s plan. “Absolutely,” he said. “I love being around the guys. I love being in the locker room. It’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had playing baseball. I’m going to stick around in there as long as I can until somebody tells me I can’t be in there, which I hope is never.”