SF Giants’ Evan Longoria to miss at least six weeks after surgery
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — On the day Bobby Evans introduced new Giants third baseman Evan Longoria, the former general manager touted his ability to stay on the field.
“His durability and leadership will strengthen our club moving forward,” Evans said.
For the sixth time in his tenure with the Giants, Longoria is headed for the injured list. Manager Gabe Kapler announced Wednesday that Longoria will be out at least six weeks following surgery to repair his right index finger in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be around six weeks, or six weeks,” Kapler said Wednesday. “It’s going to be in that in that neighborhood give or take a week. That was pretty definitive. That’s that’s what we believe.”
Giants outfielder Mike Yazstremski added, “Obviously, that’s a big blow for us, to be missing one of our most important guys for any length of time. Hopefully, it seems kind of minor in terms of surgeries and if that timeframe holds up, it’ll be really nice to get him back in the middle of May.”
Longoria was one of the majors’ most durable players during the first decade of his career as he played at least 156 games in five consecutive seasons before being traded to San Francisco in December, 2017, but the 36-year-old has dealt with several unfortunate injuries since donning a Giants uniform.
The finger injury has lingered since August 2021, when Longoria was hit by a fastball thrown by Mets reliever Edwin Díaz. He spent time on the injured list, but returned to action late in the season and started at third base during the playoffs with the Giants.
Kapler said Tuesday, “We were counting on Evan to be not just ready for Opening Day but at his best” and there was “some optimism and some expectation that he would feel good enough to grip a bat and make all of his throws and be the best version of Evan Longoria. And he wasn’t able to get there.”
Longoria also missed Opening Day in the truncated 2020 season with an oblique strain and spent more than six weeks on the injured list in 2018 after fracturing his hand on a hit by pitch against the Marlins. The veteran third baseman has also been forced to miss playing time due to plantar fasciitis, which has plagued him for much of his Giants career.
Last year, in addition to the lingering finger injury Longoria missed more than two months with a left shoulder sprain after colliding with infielder Brandon Crawford in June. But the Giants didn’t stop from rolling to a 107-win season, some Yazstremski said is a testament to just how deep the Giants are.
“We’ve been in this situation before where we’ve had guys go down with some nicks and bruises and we’ve had plenty of guys step up,” Yazstremski said. “They prepare every day to be in the game — everyone’s preparing to win. That’s the important thing, is that we’re ready whenever we get the opportunity.
“We kind of really leaned into that last year and hopefully, it’s something that we can continue to do and keep lifting each other up when we need to.”
Staff writer Evan Webeck contributed to this story.