Giants starter Alex Wood left his start on Tuesday in the third inning after straining his hamstring while fielding a bunt. San Francisco placed him on the 15-day injured list the next morning, and it seems he’s in for an absence well beyond that minimum.
San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler told reporters this evening Wood will be out “several weeks, at least” (relayed by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). There’s still not a ton of specificity in that timeline, but it’s clear he won’t be back in early May.
It’s another unfortunate issue for Wood, a typically effective pitcher who has battled various injury concerns throughout his career. The left-hander only topped 150 innings in four of his first ten MLB seasons. He’s had at least one IL stint in every year since 2015. Back and shoulder issues have typically been his most nagging concerns, but he’s now in for a notable absence due to a lower half injury.
While Wood missed a bit of time in both 2021-22, he managed to make 26 starts in each of those seasons. He posted a 3.83 ERA through 138 2/3 innings during his first year in San Francisco. The Giants re-signed him on a two-year, $25MM contract headed into 2022. Wood surrendered a 5.10 ERA over 130 2/3 frames last year.
That middling run prevention came with far better peripherals. He posted better than average strikeout, walk and ground-ball marks. A .315 batting average on balls in play and very low 63.9% left-on-base rate were the main culprits for Wood allowing more than five earned runs per nine. Estimators like FIP (3.76) and SIERA (3.45) felt he deserved quite a bit better.
Wood had been off to an alright start in 2023. He’d allowed four runs (two earned) through his first 10 innings. The 32-year-old had walked six batters but fanned 11. He’ll have to put things on pause for a while before trying to reestablish himself in advance of next offseason’s free agency. Offseason signee Ross Stripling now looks likely to return to the rotation alongside Logan Webb, Sean Manaea, Alex Cobb and Anthony DeSclafani. Stripling had been set to work primarily as a multi-inning reliever after struggling with home runs through the season’s first couple weeks.
Harrison will be up sooner or later at this point
May as well be later. There’s really no reason to rush him. This team just isn’t very good and sadly, they’re exactly who most fans thought they were.
Yeah I genuinely don’t get a sense the owners care about competing for a World Series at this point.
I guess getting coffee for Friedman in LA, hasn’t prepared Zaidi to run a Major League Baseball team. Your average SF fan could do a much better job.
Harrison is not ready…. At least one or two seasons away
Harrison is not ready…..at least one or two seasons away
Harrison needs to adjust to better hitters. His numbers so far aren’t exactly great at the moment. No need to rush.
Harrisons ERA is over 5 in AAA and his WHIP is nearly 2.5. He is definitely nowhere near ready to face big league hitters. Beyond that, it’s extremely unlikely the Giants would waste a year of his service time options on a season where they largely arent expected to compete
Tatis back, until he takes his motorcycle out for a ride.
… or feels the unmistakable itch of ringworm.
He’s living rent free in your heads
It’s California. Nobody rents for free.
Not really, because no one is worried about him. People just like to point out that he’s a cheater who isn’t very well-liked within his own organization.
This hard to watch. Wood is garbage hurt or not. Just waiting for the firings
Don’t watch, 314. Simple answer. Or…keep some tissue handy.
Might be hard to not watch. Have had season tix for 10 years. How about you
Perfect timing, MadBum will be available soon. If you can’t be good, you may as well be nostalgic.
Screw it I’ll go five innings for them why not.
But can you hit lefties?
I swing right handed but no I can’t.
It’s actually impressive that he’s been in the league 10 years and worked mostly as a starter.
I remember when he first came up that hitch in his delivery had many people question how long he’d stay not only as a starter but as an effective starter. (So much that the then-rebuilding Braves traded their young, controllable starter for Hector Olivares)
Can we get rid of Zaidi & Kapler already? Zaidi’s been dumpster diving this week & there’s a reason Philly fired Kapler. These 2 have milked that 2021 season, which in reality had nothing to do with them. Posey, Longo, Crawford, Belt, Webb, & others were all brought in by the previous regime. SF’s off seasons have been atrocious. They didn’t even try to retain Gausman, Rodon, or Bryant. But they did bring in LaStella, LaMonte Wade, Wilmer, Mannea, & Stripling. They made phantom attempts at Harper & Judge to deceive the fans that they want to win. Then would always stay, “we tried.” Well try harder. Offer Judge a contract so lucrative the players union would make him sign it. They’ve screwed up Bart’s development. Joey’s had to look over his shoulder every second because they bring in new catcher every other week. The farm system is getting worse. Remember when everyone said it was smart for bringing in Will Wilson with that trade with Anaheim. Bishop & Luciano have spent more time injured than they have playing & what happened to Seth Corry? Remember how hard the players played for Bochy? They would move mountains for him. They don’t seem to care for Kapler too much. And can you blame them! Nobody really knows where they stand or they only get to bat if a lefty (or righty) is pitching. Like get over the platoons. A little is fine, but they say overdo it. If a guy is hot that day, leave him in regardless of the righty/lefty match up. I live in Utah & I would take my son to 2 or 3 games a year. We haven’t done it for a while now and won’t until they put a better product on the field. Go make a couple big moves right now.. Prospects are overrated, bring in some bats that you can pencil in 25+ hr & 90+ bi every year. This current team is a disaster!!
Analytics is being witty at ivy league cocktail parties, giving lots of media interview puffery and looking good in a 3 piece suit.
Eh, for the $$$, I’m ok that they didn’t bring back Bryant. The jury is early on Rodon, but the reservations that most teams had about him are already rearing their heads. Might prove to be a bullet dodged there. Whether those are cases of Farhan simply looking smart or actually being smart, it’s hard to say.
Gausman though …
Gausman wanted to move east for his family no matter what. He stated as much.
Dan Uggla (btw Dan Uggla was a monsta).Gausman also came out & said he was open to staying but SF didn’t even try to retain him. I know right now the Kris Bryant (not retaining) is looking smart because KB was hurt all year, but I think that one will come back to bite them. He just now is getting his power back, he been crushing the ball this last week. He can play multiple positions, he has playoff experience, he’s a good character/locker room guy, & correct me if I’m wrong, he’s still fairly young (like 30 maybe).
@BondsAway take your kid to go see a series down in Phoenix. Yeah a bit of a drive but it’s about the father/son experience and you would be seeing a young exciting team.
You’re totally right! Honestly, we want to see SF play in every stadium before we die. We’ve been to SF’s park, San Diego, AZ, Dodgers, Wrigley, Atlanta, Denver, to name a few, we still have like 13 to go, most bring back east. Thinking of trying to go out to Pittsburgh this summer. Beautiful park, and hopefully O. Cruz will be back soon. Pitt is playing some good ball right now