Longoria feels ready to make his debut
SAN FRANCISCO >> When the doors of the Giants clubhouse opened Monday afternoon, a familiar if somewhat unexpected face was sitting at his corner locker, beneath a couple of Tom Brady Buccaneers jerseys.
Although he wasn't activated for Monday's series opener with the Colorado Rockies, Evan Longoria was back from a five-day rehab assignment and had reclaimed his spot in the clubhouse. It's only a matter of days before he does the same at third base and the middle of the Giants batting order.
Longoria, who has missed the first 29 games of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a ligament in his right index finger, said that his 2022 debut will come “hopefully in the next three or four days.”
Manager Gabe Kapler affirmed Longoria's declaration: “He's ready to play.”
“I'm as close to ready as I'll be,” Longoria said. “We have some conversations to be had, but I definitely feel the hand is healthy.”
The addition of Longoria will be welcomed by a banged-up lineup that recently endured a five-game losing streak during which it produced 10 total runs.
The arrival of Longoria also marks one of the final Giants left to return from the IL.
LaMonte Wade Jr. (left knee) made his season debut this past weekend after missing the first 25 games. Brandon Belt, while still sidelined Monday with a stiff neck, gave the Giants a clean bill of health in the COVID department when he returned Saturday after an outbreak caught up five players.
So, what's the hold up in activating Longoria?
A left-hander, Austin Gomber, was on the mound for the Rockies on Monday. If Longoria is healthy, it would have seemed like the kind of soft landing the Giants have tried to provide players coming back from injuries and up from Triple-A.
Longoria went 5-for-18 (.278) on his rehab assignment but also struck out seven times, including a hat trick in his final game with Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday. At 36 years old, in his 15th MLB season, Longoria admitted it was difficult to focus at times on the pitching he was facing at Triple-A.
“My at-bats were just OK down there. I struck out too much,” he said. “You get a little bit jaded by the big leagues. My focus has been does my hand feel good? Does my body feel good? Am I swinging at the right pitches? I felt like a lot of my at-bats down there, especially, the ones I struck out in, I had pitches to hit in the at-bat and I just didn't put them in play. I think some of it, right or wrong, is lack of focus . ... Physically I feel good.”