SF Giants’ Encarnacion undergoes surgery, estimated to return in eight weeks

SF Giants’ Encarnacion undergoes surgery, estimated to return in eight weeks

CINCINNATI — Jerar Encarnacion’s season debut will be a little later than initially hoped.

The Giants announced prior to Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds that Encarnacion underwent surgery on Friday in Los Angeles to repair his left hand fracture. Encarnacion will be in a split for two weeks, then begin his rehab. Encarnacion is expected to be sidelined eight weeks, longer than the slugger’s initial estimate of four-to-five weeks.

“I think we were always looking at (the recovery being longer), to tell you the truth,” said manager Bob Melvin.

The team also announced that catcher Tom Murphy (mid-back disk herniation) is continuing his physical therapy but has yet to resume baseball activities.

Encarnacion, 27, was slated to share time with Wilmer Flores at designated following a spring where he hit two homers, totaled 14 RBIs and posted an .856 OPS. He was roughly a league-average hitter during his brief time with the Giants last season, posting a .248 batting average with five homers and a .702 OPS, but his underlying metrics indicated a big year could be in store.

San Francisco Giants’ Jerar Encarnacion (59) bats against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

If Encarnacion is going to break out, he will have to wait until the summer.

The injury opened up a spot on the Opening Day roster for infielder Casey Schmitt, who was slotted in at designated hitter to bat eighth against Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo on Saturday at Great American Ball Park. Schmitt fares has fared better in his career against lefties (seven homers, .725 OPS) than righties (four homers, .565 OPS).

“If you look at the history, he’s dealt some damage there,” Melvin said. “It’s one of the reasons he made the team. With no Jerar, we wanted to add another righty bat that hits lefties well. Casey’s in there today and he’ll get pretty good opportunities, especially against lefties.”

Along with Schmitt, Luis Matos got the start in right field over Mike Yastrzemski, a move that Melvin will continue to make given Matos fares better against lefties than Yastrzemski. Against left-handers, Matos has a career .758 OPS while Yastrzemski has a career .685 OPS. Over the last four seasons, in particular, Yastrzemski has a .597 OPS against lefties.

Source: Paradise Post