San Francisco Giants rookie outfielder Jung Hoo Lee suffered structural damage in his left shoulder when he crashed hard into an outfield wall during Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Reds, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Lee is expected to seek a second opinion on Thursday when he meets with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, after which the Giants are likely to provide a more substantive update on his diagnosis.
The San Francisco Giants have lost an entire outfield to injury over weekend. Besides Lee, Austin Slater was placed on the 7-day concussion list Saturday after crashing into the outfield wall Friday night and Michael Conforto landed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday morning with a hamstring strain. He suffered the injury running the bases Saturday.
Lee was originally diagnosed with a separated shoulder. Here's the play in question:
Jung Hoo Lee exited today's game after appearing to injure himself on a collision with the center field wall pic.twitter.com/ocXon6JI8F
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 12, 2024
Lee, 25, joined the Giants over the offseason as a well-regarded international free agent from South Korea. In 37 games he had hit .262/.310/.331 (89 OPS+) with two home runs and two stolen bases.
Mike Yastrzemski is San Francisco's only healthy full-time outfielder who was on the Opening Day roster. Erstwhile top prospects Heliot Ramos and Luis Matos were called up earlier this week. Utility men Tyler Fitzgerald and Brett Wisely are also on the roster.
"It means a lot," Ramos said Saturday about being called up (via MLB.com). "I'm just trying to help the team. I'm trying to do my best. I've been trying since 2022 when I made my debut. I feel like I'm in a good spot. I just want to keep playing hard and trying to make the best of this opportunity."
On the position player side, the Giants are currently without two outfielders (Conforto and Slater), their DH (Soler), their shortstop (Nick Ahmed), and their backup catcher (Tom Murphy). Starting catcher Patrick Bailey returned from the concussion list Saturday. He was the corresponding move for Slater. The Giants are also without Blake Snell (groin), who made a minor-league rehab start Sunday. Alex Cobb (hip) and Robbie Ray (Tommy John surgery) are recovering from surgeries they underwent in 2023. Tristan Beck (aneurysm) and Ethan Small (oblique) got hurt in spring training.
San Francisco entered play on Tuesday with a 19-24 record that puts them in fourth place in the National League West. The Giants are closer to the last-place Colorado Rockies than the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers.
The poor start and all the injuries have happened after an active offseason in which the Giants signed Lee, Jorge Soler, Snell, and Matt Chapman, and traded for Ray while he was injured. The hope was they'd help the club bounce back from a 79-83 showing in 2023. Instead, they're on a worse pace.
