Pablo Sandoval Returns From 15-Day DL

The San Francisco Giants were shut out for the first time this season on Friday night against the Texas Rangers. Bruce Bochy filled out a lineup card that included neither Melky Cabrera nor Buster Posey. Not surprisingly, the Giants only managed a handful of singles in the game. Luckily, they will be getting some reinforcements in the form of iconic third baseman Pablo Sandoval.

Sandoval has been reactivated from the disabled list as of Saturday. Sandoval needed surgery to remove the hamate bone from his left hand on May 4. The injury came nearly a year to the day after needing to have the hamate bone removed from his right hand. Sandoval has recovered from surgery quickly and hit a pair of home runs at Fresno on Friday in his minor league rehab assignment. The Giants will certainly welcome the return of another power hitter, as Sandoval was their hottest bat before landing on the DL.

First baseman Brett Pill was optioned to Triple-A Fresno to make room on the 25-man roster for Sandoval.

For more on Sandoval and the Giants, please visit McCovey Chronicles and SB Nation Bay Area.

Pablo Sandoval Swinging, Fielding

Pablo Sandoval went down on May 2 with a broken hamate bone, a small bone in the hand that hasn't been useful to humans since we had tails. But when it breaks, it can create pain and infection, so for the second straight season, Sandoval had a hamate bone removed. He's the Tommy John of hamates.

But while last year's injury kept him out six weeks, that was mostly because his throwing hand (right) was affected. His problem was with the left hand this year, and Sandoval has remained optimistic that he'd be back closer to four weeks this time around. And from his personal Twitter account, he sends an encouraging tweet:

Update on my Rehab - I did 50 swing today and catch 25 groundball and NO PAIN AT ALL #PANDAMODE ON twitter.com/KFP48/status/2…

— KFP48 (@KFP48) May 25, 2012

He took 50 swings from the left side and 15 from the right with a fungo bat according to a subsequent tweet. The Giants have scored over 4.5 runs per game since his injury, so I guess we all know what the problem was now.

Pablo Sandoval Injury: Surgery Will Keep Giants 3B Out At Least A Month

During the 2011 season, San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval fractured his right hamate. Surgery knocked him out for about six weeks. It was a devastating blow to a Giants lineup that really needed Pablo Sandoval.

During the 2012 season, San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval fractured his left hamate. On the one hand, it's devastating for the Giants, again. On the other hand, at least they know pretty much exactly what to expect:

Surgery tomorrow for Sandoval. Out 4-6 weeks.

— Alex Pavlovic (@AlexPavlovic) May 3, 2012

Same injury, same timetable. Still bad, but at least there's less of the unpredictability factor.

When Sandoval was hurt a year ago, he had a .904 OPS. After his return, he posted a .910 OPS. He should make a full recovery this time around, again. But he will be missed in the meantime. The Giants have a team 103 OPS+ even with Brandon Crawford and Manny Burriss doing nothing, but Sandoval's one of the rocks. In a good way. Not in an anchor way.

Pablo Sandoval Injury: Giants Third Baseman Has Fractured Left Hamate

On Wednesday night, the Giants’ Pablo Sandoval left the game against the Marlins in the sixth inning after hitting a ground ball to the right side of the infield.

This has turned out to be a mirror image of the injury Sandoval suffered in 2011, which was a broken hamate bone in his right hand:

CONFIRMED: Pablo Sandoval has fractured his left hamate bone. Last year he missed 6 weeks and 41 games.

— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) May 3, 2012

It would seem likely that Sandoval would miss about as much time this season with this injury, although since it isn’t to his throwing hand, perhaps he could come back sooner.

No corresponding roster move has been announced yet for the disabling of Sandoval, though it could be Conor Gillaspie, who is hitting .356/.414/.489 at Triple-A Fresno.

For more on Sandoval and the Giants, please visit McCovey Chronicles and SB Nation Bay Area.

Pablo Sandoval Injures Hand, Might Hit DL

Pablo Sandoval might be out for an extended period of time with an injury in his left hand.