The Giants were so desperate at the shortstop position, they threw Jason Vosler, who hadn’t played the position in seven years, into the fire on Saturday night.
But San Francisco will soon return its Opening Day shortstop. Brandon Crawford, who’s been on the injured list since July 16, will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday and could be back for the Giants as soon as Thursday.
The plan, manager Gabe Kapler explained, is for Crawford to play five innings of shortstop on Tuesday for the River Cats. He’ll then play again the next day in Sacramento’s afternoon game.
“Then Thursday we’ll have our first decision,” Kapler said. “Does it make sense to activate him on Thursday for the Dodgers game? Does it make sense to get through Friday’s off day and activate him on Saturday? Those are TBD right now.”
Crawford’s injury stems from a home plate collision in Atlanta on June 21. He went on the injured list shortly after that crash, but didn’t feel right when he returned and eventually landed back on the IL in July. A beacon of durability, Crawford has only hit the injured list four times in his career, including twice this season.
Crawford has been taking grounders and working out on the field with the team recently, but a rehab assignment is the only true way to simulate real game action.
For the series finale against the Cubs, the Giants are starting Dixon Machado — who arrived in San Francisco from St. Paul, Minnesota at 11:20 a.m. — at shortstop. Dixon hasn’t played in MLB since 2018, but the Giants are desperate.
Still, the Giants don’t want to rush Crawford back into action. The 35-year-old shortstop’s production has dropped off this year after an MVP-caliber season in 2021, partly due to various injuries. The veteran is hitting .215 and has a negative WAR, per Baseball-Reference. After returning to the club after the first IL stint, he hit .152 in nine games.
But if the Giants can get Crawford healthy and effective, a run at the postseason becomes much more possible.