SF Giants Mitch Haniger lands on injured list, rookie pitcher optioned

The SF Giants anticipated making a couple of roster moves on Wednesday morning as both Luis Matos and David Villar had been recalled. To make room on the roster, Mitch Haniger was placed on the injured list, whereas Keaton Winn was optioned.

SF Giants Mitch Haniger lands on injured list, rookie pitcher optioned

Haniger is expected to undergo forearm surgery on Thursday to determine a recovery timetable. That said, he is expected to miss an extended period of time. On the other hand, the Giants can breathe a sigh of relief given that J.D. Davis was diagnosed with a Grade 1 ankle sprain. He has not been placed on the injured list, but that could change in the next day or so if he is unavailable to play the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend.

The Haniger and Davis injuries happened in the third inning of Tuesday's 11-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, so the team was in an uneasy waiting period despite playing well on the field.

Haniger began the season on the injured list with an oblique strain and he had gotten off to a slow start in 2023. The right-handed bat had registered a .230/.281/.372 line (78 OPS+) with four home runs, 22 RBI, and 20 runs in 160 plate appearances. This includes a 5.6 percent walk rate against a 26.3 percent strikeout rate.

His numbers may not show it, but Haniger was still making quality contact. Oftentimes, that hard contact was right into the opposing team's defense. The Giants hope that he can return this year, but that will be determined following surgery.

On the other hand, Keaton Winn did everything right but was still optioned to make room for David Villar. The righty debuted against the Cardinals on Tuesday, allowing just one earned run on two strikeouts and three walks across four innings.

San Francisco already has a bulk innings reliever with in Jakob Junis, so they have enough coverage on the bullpen without Winn. Nevertheless, Winn strung together some nice starts in Triple-A as he allowed just one earned run on 18 strikeouts against five walks in his last three outings with the Sacramento River Cats.

The 25-year-old pitcher may not be a household name when it comes to the team's top prospect rankings, but he is still regarded as one of the better pitching prospects in the organization. The Giants will need him again soon enough after an encouraging debut.