Down goes another third baseman.
The San Francisco Giants are making a roster move ahead of their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, which gets underway Monday night. A few hours before the start of the game, the Giants announced that infielder Casey Schmitt had been placed on the 10-Day Injured List, retroactive to June 27. Taking his place is infielder Tyler Fitzgerald, who has been called up from AAA Sacramento.
It’s a tough break for Schmitt, who was really finding his rhythm before the injury, and had a chance to be the everyday third baseman with Matt Chapman sidelined. Thankfully the injury isn’t considered severe, and Schmitt is expected to return at the end of his IL stint.
Fitzgerald gets called back into action earlier that the team had intended. He was recently optioned to Sacramento to try and find a reset, as he’s been mired in quite a slump recently: since returning from the IL himself, Fitzgerald has his just .186/.245/.227 in 110 plate appearances. He has gone 41 consecutive games without a home run. The Giants had hoped he’d get some consistent run in Sacramento and find a rhythm, but Schmitt’s injury forced the issue, so Fitzgerald returns after just four games with the River Cats. He hit 4-13 with one double, one walk, and three strikeouts during that stint.
For Monday’s game, Fitzgerald will start at second base, with Christian Koss getting the nod at third. That’s likely the arrangement we’ll see for the rest of the road trip, which features four games in Arizona and then three in Sacramento against the Athletics. According to the Giants beat reporters, Chapman is taking batting practice today, and is now targeting the start of the Giants home stand as his return date. When San Francisco next plays at Oracle Park in exactly a week, it could be that both Chapman and Schmitt are back on the roster.