Hunter Pence has a broken forearm and the Giants are in trouble
After finishing the 2014 MLB season on the highest of highs, the defending champion San Francisco Giants now face another challenge as the get ready for 2015. Hunter Pence, their starting right fielder, iron man and walking-talking energy drink, will miss the start of the season
Pence was hit in the left forearm by a pitch Thursday in the Giants’ spring training game against the Chicago Cubs. Team doctors diagnosed that Pence had a broken forearm, and x-rays later confirmed it’s a “non-displaced fracture in left forearm.”
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The team estimates Pence will be out 6-8 weeks, which is a little better than when Curtis Granderson missed 10 weeks with a similar injury two years ago, but it’s still means the Giants are in trouble. Especially since there’s no guarantee Pence will heal that quick and there won’t be any lingering effects once he’s cleared for action.
Here’s the clubhouse view on things, from Henry Schulman at the San Francisco Chronicle:
“You hate to see it,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Unfortunately, these things do happen. The guys work so hard all winter. You hate to see it in the second game (Pence played).”
Even in the best case, Pence would miss the first two weeks of the regular season, which begins in one month, ending the longest current games-played streak in the majors at 383. He has not missed a game for the Giants since his acquisition midway through the 2012 season.
Pence left the game at Scottsdale Stadium immediately after being hit by a Corey Black pitch in the sixth inning. He went down to the ground and stayed down for several seconds before jogging to first base, where he was met by a team trainer and escorted to the clubhouse.
The Giants’ lineup was already in need of a boost after an offseason in which Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse fled in free agency. Losing Pence — their second most valuable offensive player last season according to fWAR — leaves them hurting even more. The Giants will now likely use Juan Perez or Gregor Blanco in right field, though neither can match Pence’s production at the plate. He led the team in runs scored last season, and was second in homers and RBIs.
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Remember also that the starting rotation, always the Giants’ strength, faces injury questions with Tim Hudson and Matt Cain both coming off surgeries. All this equals many worries around the Giants right now.
They could seek a trade to help in the outfield. Allen Craig, who the Boston Red Sox are looking to swap, is one name that immediately sprung up in the rumor mill, but he’s expensive.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
