The 2018 San Francisco Giants want nothing more than to start the upcoming season healthy and put last season’s performance behind them. Unfortunately for the Giants, their baggage carries over to the 2018 preseason. With hardly a week left of Spring Training, the Giants incurred two injuries within the last two days. Jeff Samardzija is out for a month with a pectoral strain, and now Giants ace Madison Bumgarner will be out with a fractured pinky to start the season. Bumargner will require surgery and his timetable to return is undetermined.
BREAKING: Bumgarner fractures pitching hand in final tune-up of the spring https://t.co/fpe2S13t0x pic.twitter.com/sU4ANgWdkM
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) March 23, 2018
Bumgarner, Samardzija injuries put Giants behind the 8-ball
The 33-year-old Samardzija has had his struggles all spring, as he’s going on the disabled list with a 10.64 ERA and seven strikeouts in 11 innings.
For Bumgarner, the once indestructible demigod that single-handedly led San Francisco to a 2014 championship has had a crack in his armor as of late. Last season Bumgarner injured his shoulder while riding his bike on an off-day, and now he’ll return to the disabled list before the regular season starts. Before Bumgarner’s departure in the third inning of his last Spring Training game, he had a solid preseason record. He’ll go to the disabled list with a 3.43 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 21 innings.
The new additions of Andrew McCutchen, Evan Longoria, and Austin Jackson will immediately have their moment in the spotlight as the Giants will rely on their new-look offense to make up for the losses of Bumgarner and Samardzija. Johnny Cueto will also see some mileage as the third starter in the rotation. Cueto is getting the kinks from the offseason worked out. In just 9.1 innings of work, he’s recorded a 5.79 ERA but has 10 strikeouts.
The undermanned Giants will try to get over a sorry 2017 effort without their ace on the mound. As injuries continue to spoil new beginnings for the struggling Giants, the title of one article from the San Francisco Chronicle summed up what all Giants fans are thinking currently in big bold letters: “Here we go again.”
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