Mike Yastrzemski sprinted around the bases at Oracle Park and Mitch Haniger is set to play his fifth rehab assignment game Sunday night.
Both veteran outfielders could return from the injured list as soon as Monday.
Yastrzemski has been nursing a strained hamstring all August. He would’ve been back already, but felt sore after running the bases — typically the final hurdle for that particular injury — last week. Now, Yastrzemski has successfully sprinted around the diamond and hit off live pitching from John Brebbia twice this weekend.
On the season, Yastrzemski has slashed .233/.314/.439. He’s hit 11 home runs and is probably the Giants’ most reliable defensive center fielder.
“Yaz has been, for several years, one of our best hitters against right-handed pitching,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “A dependable center fielder, a dependable base runner, and a great teammate. So a very proven, regular, high-quality Major Leaguer.”
Haniger has been out since he fractured his right forearm on a hit-by-pitch on June 13. He’ll play in another rehab game with the Sacramento River Cats in El Paso. In his first four rehab games, Haniger is 1-for-15 with a walk and two strikeouts.
The Giants made Haniger their biggest offseason acquisition by signing him to a three-year, $43.5 million contract; he’s played just 40 games this year and has a 79 OPS+ (100 is league average).
Kapler indicated that there’s a “good chance” both Haniger and Yastrzemski will play against the Reds, who are in town for a three-game series from Monday through Wednesday. The Reds, who have roughly the same record as the Giants, are fighting for the same wild card spot San Francisco is.
Whenever Yastrzemski and Haniger return, the Giants will have some difficult roster decisions to make. Particularly with Haniger, who will be coming off the 60-day IL, SF will have to make room for him.
The most likely candidate to come off the 40-man roster include veteran AJ Pollock, who is also injured. The Giants will likely want to send down another outfielder, since they currently have Heliot Ramos, Luis Matos, Wade Meckler, Austin Slater, Joc Pederson and Blake Sabol as OF options. Casey Schmitt, though, could also make sense to get sent down if the Giants choose to be lighter in the infield.
- The Giants’ series finale against Atlanta will be televised ESPN as the national Sunday Night Baseball game.
Paul DeJong, SF’s newly acquired shortstop, is the player chosen to be Mic’d up.
- John Brebbia pitched his second simulated game in three days, once again facing Yastrzemski. He likes to create as close to a real game environment as possible, so he wore his full uniform and made special requests to the team. The Giants pumped in artificial crowd noise, played his walk-up song “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” and even shot off the water cannons for him.
- Since the game is on ESPN, Giants fans at home won’t see as much of the Mike Murphy celebration as they otherwise might.
Almost 50 former Giants alumni are in town to celebrate Murphy, who worked for the organization since it moved to San Francisco in 1958. The Giants are suggesting fans arrive in their seats for the ceremony at 3:00 p.m..
