Speedy SF Giants offensive threat on track to be ready for Opening Day

The SF Giants gave a lot of money to free agent Jung Hoo Lee last offseason. He got injured in 2024 before his rookie season could really begin, but he appears to be on track to be ready for Opening Day in 2025 which is great news.

Losing Lee in 2024 was a big gut punch for the Giants. He was their biggest offseason signing and the hope was that he would transform their lineup by being a speedy contact hitter who got on base a lot and stole bases.

He showed flashes of that, but he ultimately played in just 37 games before he separated his shoulder by crashing into the center field wall in May. In those 37 games he slashed .262/.310/.331 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI.

SF Giants get good health update on Jung Hoo Lee

Whenever a player has a major shoulder injury like that, there is a fear that the effects could be long-term. Cody Bellinger had a shoulder injury that made him look like a shell of his former self for years. It was easy to worry that Lee could face a similar fate.

Thankfully, general manager Zack Minasian spoke about how Lee is progressing nicely from his injury and is set to have a normal offseason. The one blessing in disguise with Lee's injury is that it happened early in the year so he had time to recover and get ready for 2025.

The Giants are going to need him to be the player they thought they were signing out of Korea if they are going to contend in 2025. If he can be a table-setter for the lineup and play very solid defense in center field, that could go a long way towards fixing some of the issues the Giants had in 2024.

A good leadoff hitter can turn a mediocre or poor offense into a good one. Having a guy who plays an exciting brand of baseball and can inject energy into the lineup like Lee could potentially change everything.

Minasian also spoke about how he likes having exciting, dynamic players up the middle and he believes the Giants have two pieces who fit that mold in Lee and catcher Patrick Bailey. If they were to add a shortstop like Ha-Seong Kim or Willy Adames up the middle then they would look very strong up the middle of the diamond.

No matter what, it is great to hear that Lee is progressing nicely and we can only hope that he will have a full season of good health in 2025.