The San Francisco Giants have had a little bit of tough luck lately with some injuries.
Evan Longoria is going to be out until at least mid-May while recovering from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right index finger, and outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. will also not be ready in time for Opening Day as he recovers from inflammation and a bone bruise in his left knee.
However, Giants MLB.com beat reporter Maria Guardado has some reassuring news for San Francisco fans amidst all the disappointing news regarding Wade and Longoria, providing a little update on some other injured Giants players making strides, most notably Brandon Belt.
In better injury news, Mike Yastrzemski (right quad tightness) came in feeling better today and could return to game action this weekend. Brandon Belt (right knee inflammation) will run the bases today and could debut this weekend at 1B or DH.
— Maria I. Guardado (@mi_guardado) March 30, 2022
Belt On His Way Back
This is good news for the Giants and their fans.
Mike Yastrzemski is obviously close, but Belt appears to be close to returning as well with the possibility of him playing first base or serving as a designated hitter this weekend, and that should be reassuring for the Giants.
Getting two key contributors back will help boost their chances of winning as they look to build on their surprise 107-win season from a year ago.
Belt, 33, put together a solid bounce-back season in 2021, hitting .274 with 29 homers and 59 RBIs.
Though he dealt with some injuries, he proved what kind of player he can be when he’s healthy, showing that he can still be productive, even as he ages.
The Giants hope he has more left in the tank and can build off of last year’s success.
We’ll see if he can stay healthy and replicate what he did in 2021.
With Longoria out, Belt’s return would be a major boon for San Francisco as they look to defend their NL West title.
