SATURDAY: The injury is to Melancon’s forearm, Schulman writes. The Giants believe that the risk of further injury will not increase if Melancon continues pitching, so he will continue to do so for now while he weighs his options. Whether Melancon pursues surgery or rehab, the team’s goal is for him to be completely ready for Spring Training.
FRIDAY: Giants reliever Mark Melancon is considering undergoing surgery, he told reporters today, including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (links to Twitter). The veteran righty declined to disclose the precise nature of the injury, but did indicate it is not an elbow ligament problem.
Whatever the malady, it has evidently plagued Melancon for quite some time. He says the problem has arisen from time to time dating back to 2012. This year, though, it has been a bigger concern. Melancon says he has dealt with “discomfort every day this season.” (Via MLB.com’s Chris Haft, on Twitter.)
It seems the decision has yet to be made, with the possibility of a procedure and also its timing still being weighed. Melancon noted that he wants to keep pitching down the stretch this year, even if there’s no hope of a postseason berth, because the club hopes to gain some momentum for a rebound in 2018.
Clearly, though, having a healthy and effective Melancon for the season to come will be the priority. He has not been at his best since landing in San Francisco over the winter on a four-year, $62MM free-agent pact. The 32-year-old has dealt with injury issues in or around the elbow joint, limiting him to 23 2/3 innings of 3.80 ERA ball this season.
There are both signs of optimism and of worry in Melancon’s 2017 stat sheet. He carries 7.6 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9, with a 17.2% K%-BB% that’s right in line with his outstanding work over the prior four seasons. His average fastball velocity has actually been up a bit after trending down over the past two years. On the other hand, Melancon has dropped back to a 9.6% swinging-strike rate — falling shy of double-digits for the first time since his last non-dominant campaign (in 2012, with the Red Sox).
pustule bosey
well at least the other moves the giants made to boost the club have been paying off big time this year, moore, smith…. um,,,
Wolf_Of_The_West
Dyson is good at least
pustule bosey
Yeah he and Pablo have been pleasant surprises, but I guess if you throw enough vets at the team something will stick (hundley, ruggiano, Rollins, hill, Stubbs, Morris, ramirez …..)
glassml
Rangers are stupid….gave him away
Wolf_Of_The_West
To be fair he was complete garbage before becoming a Giant this year, so the best the Rangers were going to get for him was a kick in the face
Jean Matrac
You mean, he was complete garbage this year before becoming a Giant. The way you wrote it sounds like his career was complete garbage until going to SF, which is not the case. 2012 through 2016 he was really good. The Rangers gave up on him too soon.
Wolf_Of_The_West
That’s what I get for trying to defend the Rangers
julyn82001
Player claim health issues go back to 2012… Weird Giants did not notice this and instead gave Melancon a whopping 62 million dollars contract… Way to spend the buckies…
jonnyblah
Fans basically demanded it after all the blown saves last year. At least it wasn’t $86 mil for basically the same results. I hope teams are taking notice on “closer” salaries. Relievers just aren’t worth that kind of contract.
LADreamin
Old relievers aren’t worth that much money.
jonnyblah
Neither are young ones.
jmgara
Can’t blame the Giants if the player didn’t disclose. Would think the Giants could file a grievance.
eyoung11
Quite the flattering picture you used here
stug14
“I’m not fat, I’m big boned!”
Giantsfan775
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a skeleton with two chins.
nentwigs
If this condition has bothered him since 2012 and he (and his agent) did not disclose that fact to teams while he was being shopped as a free agent and it was not disclosed in the medical reports, then this player did not bargain in good faith. Seems to me, the Giants should be able to file a grievance with the players association to recover the dollars paid on this contract and to perhaps have the entire contract voided. Get the lawyers working!!
jd396
That’s not really how the players association works
differentbears
I’m guessing it’s back problems, as in 38 games back problems.
pustule bosey
No, it is head problems, as in the dodgers are 38 games ahead
Patick L
No it’s his gut. A gut wrenching performance this year.
kblack42
I hate when ppl hide stuff we will eventually know. It’s like hiding when you pregnant.
nentwigs
It may be time to consider a surgical removal of Bobby Evans and Brian Sabean from the team and let others build it back in an attempt to recapture past glory.
Jean Matrac
Right, because Sabean and Evans have never accomplished anything. They have no track record record worth anything, so you might as well start from scratch, bring in a complete unknown, and throw something against the wall and hope it sticks.
jmgara
Three championships in five years after 55 years of nothing and it amazes me that there are stupid posts like this. No one could have expected the sharp decline in players like Crawford, Panik, Cueto, Moore and Pence. No one could have expected the number of injuries (Parker, Williamson, Slater, Will Smith, Melancon, Bumgarner) either. That’s the middle infield, corner OFs, 3/5 of the rotation, and the back end of the bullpen. No team endures this and puts up a winning season, let alone wins a championship.
jd396
Because there weren’t enough things going wrong for the Giants