Freddy Sanchez Injury: Back Surgery Precludes 2012 Comeback

Six years ago, Freddy Sanchez batted .344 and led the National League in that esteemed category.

The next year, he proved it wasn't a complete fluke by batting .304.

Since then, things haven't gone so well.

In 2009, Sanchez went from the Pirates to the Giants in a deadline deal, but missed big chunks of the stretch run with injuries. His 2010 season was book-ended by shoulder surgeries, between which he played in only 11 games. Last season was even worse, as Sanchez suffered a separated shoulder -- yes, another shoulder injury -- in June and missed the rest of the season.

And now, having not played yet in 2012, he's not going to play at all:

Freddy Sanchez had surgery today in Los Angeles with Dr Robert Watkins on his lower back. He is out for the season. #SFGiants

— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) July 5, 2012

Well, at least it wasn't his shoulder again.

When Sanchez has been able to play, he's been pretty good. Since (but not including) his batting title, he's hit .290/.327/.406 in the majors, which isn't exciting but is good enough to keep a second baseman in clover. But at this point, Sanchez simply has to get healthy enough for a real chance to play. And it's not clear when that will happen again. Or if.

This season, the Giants have largely relied on Ryan Theriot and Emmanuel Burriss at second base, with the expected results.

Freddy Sanchez Injury: Giants Infielder To Have Shoulder Surgery; Season Over

A good long time ago, Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez dislocated his shoulder diving for a ball in play. He also damaged his shoulder labrum and stretched his shoulder capsule. It was an injury for which a lot of players go under the knife, but Sanchez opted instead to try to rehab his way back to the field.

And rehab he did, for a couple months. But it was acknowledged on Sunday that Sanchez would probably need surgery, and now on Monday, word's out that surgery is happening. Amy Gutierrez:

Freddy Sanchez will have surgery tomoro to repair rt labrum. He will not return this season.

The rehab just didn't go the way that Sanchez and the organization hoped, and so it was decided it would be better to get this taken care of now so that Sanchez can work his way back well in advance of spring training. It just wasn't worth trying any longer.

Sanchez's 2011 season ends with a .730 OPS over 261 trips to the plate. Jeff Keppinger will pick up the majority of the starts at second base the rest of the way, but he's basically the same player as Sanchez, so the Giants are doing just fine.

Sanchez is under contract for $6 million in 2012.

Freddy Sanchez Injury: Labrum, Capsule Damaged

Diving for a grounder on Friday night, San Francisco Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez dislocated his right shoulder. When the MRI results came back, the news didn't get a lot better. From Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News:

An MRI exam showed that Sanchez damaged his labrum and stretched out his shoulder capsule when he made a diving attempt on a ground ball Friday. He consulted with Dr. Ken Akizuki and will see another othopedist in Arizona this weekend.

While Sanchez has had shoulder surgery on his left shoulder before, this surgery would be on his right, which Baggarly notes is a procedure that could affect his throwing. As such, Sanchez will attempt the rest-and-rehab route:

Freddy Sanchez will hope to avoid season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, resting his arm in a sling for several weeks before he and doctors determine the level of instability in his stretched and damaged capsule.

So it's like a Groundhog Day, but with labrums. In a few weeks, Sanchez's shoulder will come out, look for its own shadow, and that will determine how long the cold winter will be.

The Giants signed veteran Bill Hall for infield depth, and Manny Burriss has been starting at second base in Sanchez's absence.

Freddy Sanchez Injury: Giants To Sign Bill Hall To Take Sanchez's Roster Spot

According to Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports, the San Francisco Giants will sign Bill Hall, late of the Houston Astros, to replace Freddy Sanchez on their 25-man roster.

The Giants’ infield has been decimated by injuries this year; Pablo Sandoval and Mike Fontenot are still out, although both are expected back soon.

Hall was released by the Astros one week ago on June 4. He hit just .224/.272/.340 for Houston in 147 at-bats, but hit 18 home runs in a part-time role for the Red Sox in 2010. Hall’s best season was in 2006, when he hit 35 home runs for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Hall is a 10-year veteran who has great versatility in the field; he can play shortstop, second base, third base or any of the outfield positions. He’s still just 31 years old, so he might have a chance to return to his better performing days, as he had with Milwaukee.

Freddy Sanchez Injury: Giants 2B Suffers Separated Shoulder

It seemed like the San Francisco Giants, who haven't been completely healthy at any point this season, were finally about to replace all the bad news with good news, as Pablo Sandoval is poised to come off the Disabled List early next week. Buster Posey's out for the duration, but otherwise the Giants might finally expect to have their ideal lineup in place.

Until Friday night. In the fifth inning of a game against the Cincinnati Reds, Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez went diving for a groundball up the middle. He did stop the ball but couldn't make the play; worse, Sanchez had to be led off the field with his right arm immobilized.

As he came off the field, Sanchez could be seen mouthing the words, "It's my shoulder."

And after the game, the news was both expected and lousy: Sanchez suffered a dislocated right shoulder, and while we don't yet know the severity of the injury -- tendons, ligaments, electronic circuitry, that sort of thing -- he's certain to land on the DL and perhaps for quite a while.

In Sanchez's absence -- and with third baseman Sandoval coming back soon -- the Giants' obvious options at second base include light-hitting Emmanuel Burriss and veteran light-hitter Miguel Tejada, who's played exactly zero innings at second base in his 17 professional seasons.

Considering Tejada's inexperience at second base and that he's actually hit worse than Burriss this season, the latter would seem the safe(r) choice until Mike Fontenot comes off the DL. Which, for the Giants, can't happen soon enough.

For much more about the Giants and the impact of Sanchez's injury, please visit McCovey Chronicles.