Buster Posey goes on DL after being beaned Monday.

Cleanup hitter feeling aftereffects after being beaned on Monday

SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey drove himself home Monday afternoon. He had a normal night of sleep. He went to bed clear headed and felt good despite taking a 93 mph fastball to the helmet.

But the Giants understand better than most that head injuries involve some deep woods. And sure enough, Posey reported feeling some aftereffects Tuesday.

The next move was automatic: the Giants placed their cleanup-hitting catcher on the seven-day disabled list for players with concussion symptoms, and purchased the contract of catcher Tim Federowicz from Triple-A Sacramento.

To create space on the 40-man roster for Federowicz, the Giants designated right-hander Clayton Blackburn for assignment. GM Bobby Evans said he anticipated working out a trade involving Blackburn before the club would have to place him on waivers in a week.

The Giants are hopeful that Posey will be back within a week’s time, too. That was Posey’s expectation as well.

“I don’t anticipate it being a long time,” Posey said. “That’s just based on how I feel. We’ve seen some guys having lingering effects, but again, I feel pretty good. I want to keep feeling good.”

Posey would be eligible to return April 18, when the Giants begin a two-game interleague series at Kansas City. Manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged it might make sense to use Posey at designated hitter there, if he’s symptom free.

The Giants did not say whether Posey was diagnosed with a concussion, but given the position he plays, the slightest symptom was enough to make the roster move. They could not risk functioning with one catcher on the roster, and they weren’t about to risk putting Posey behind the plate where he could be exposed to a foul tip off the mask.

“If he’s not available one or two days, that’s one or two days too many,” Evans said. “It’s important to exercise caution. There’s no reason to put him at further risk.”

Posey was “a little foggy,” according to Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Posey declined to elaborate on his symptoms, but said they were not debilitating.

“Nothing crazy at all,” he said. “Just enough to know something wasn’t normal. It’s nothing I feel concerned about. … But it’s hard to evaluate, probably the hardest part of the body to evaluate, someone’s head. So it’s good to have some caution.”

Posey has gotten his bell rung in the past by foul tips, but it was his belief that he hadn’t definitively been diagnosed with concussions in the past.

“I would like to say none,” Posey said. “I feel I’ve been fortunate in that respect.”

Bochy originally stated something different, saying Posey has “had one before,” but then clarified his comments by saying there were times the Giants had watched him carefully without an actual diagnosis.

The Giants have gone through enough of these brain injuries to know there are no simple or quick answers. Last year, Joe Panik was hit on the helmet by a pitch at Tampa Bay and stayed in the game, even hitting a three-run homer, but reported symptoms the following day. He missed a month, and acknowledged this spring that his visual acuity wasn’t fully restored until the offseason.

Brandon Belt also has dealt with recurring concussion symptoms after being hit by a thrown ball. Former Giants Gregor Blanco and Ehire Adrianza also had concussions after seemingly minor incidents. And of course, Mike Matheny’s career ended unexpectedly when he took a foul tip to the mask in a 2005 game at Miami.

Matheny’s case illustrates how repeated head trauma can cause symptoms to become exponentially worse.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Taijuan Walker struck Posey with the second pitch of his at-bat in the first inning of the Giants’ home opener Monday. Posey turned his head as the ball struck him on the helmet just behind the left ear. He hit the dirt and stayed seated for a few minutes, stretching his jaw while staring into space.

“It was kind of just taking inventory and seeing how I felt before I hopped up,” Posey said. “And for the most part I felt pretty good. I didn’t really feel dizzy or out of it or anything.”

Posey said he hasn’t gotten a chance to speak with Walker, who passed along his apologies to backup catcher Nick Hundley when he stepped to the plate for an at-bat Monday. But if Posey is harboring any negatives toward the Arizona pitcher, it’s no more than annoyance.

“I never thought he was trying to hit me,” Posey said. “It’s a bad miss, but I never thought he was trying to hit me.”