San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey Playing is Wrong Move

The San Francisco Giants have had injuries to several players throughout the year, but catcher Buster Posey is their most important player and most concerning injury.

Posey has been complaining about a bad hip since May, but it is now clear that he needs season ending surgery to fix the problem. And yet, the San Francisco Giants played Posey in last night’s game and don’t have an answer for when he will have the surgery.

This should be a clear-cut response from both Posey and the Giants, as he should be shut down and have the surgery immediately. Earlier this month, we looked at Posey’s latest concussion and suggested he should shut it down for fear he could get another one behind the plate.

Team Vice President Brian Sabean has said that recovery time will be six months. Every day he delays the surgery, the team’s franchise player is risking not being ready for training camp and the start of the regular season in 2019.

“We’re trying to schedule (surgery) as we speak,” Sabean told KNBR-680. “With the type of surgery he’s gonna have, which is a complete clean out of that hip, he needs as much recovery time as possible.”

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With the seriousness of his hip injury as well as his concussions, continuing to play Posey seems irresponsible. It also seems unnecessary to play him at catcher. Posey has played 225 games in his career at first base, and 13 this season.

The Giants are 63-66 and currently in the bottom third of the National League standings. There chances of making the playoffs is nearly impossible.

Posey is locked in through the 2021 season and while his time at catcher can be debated and has been for years, the three-time World Champion is not going anywhere. While his contract is large and his production is down, there is no denying that Posey is going to be a Giant no matter how drastic the changes might be this off-season.

San Francisco has been in somewhat of a downward spiral since the All-Star break of 2016, and changes seem imminent.

With Posey still the leader in the clubhouse and locked in for more years, it makes no sense for the team to delay his surgery. Every day he remains in the lineup is a detriment to his overall health and a problem for his long term recovery.

Hopefully, the surgery will come soon enough and the team can turn their focus to who else will remain with Posey in 2019.