Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee left Sunday's game with the Reds after suffering what the Giants later announced was a left shoulder strain. Lee made a leaping attempt to catch a Jeimer Candelario fly ball in the first inning, but the ball hit the top of the wall for a three-run double, while Lee’s arm made hard contact with the padding atop the fence. The awkward collision left Lee in obvious pain, and he was favoring his left arm as he left the field with the team trainer.
Manager Bob Melvin will surely provide media with an update on Lee following the game, but it certainly looks like a trip to the 10-day injured list is in order. Lee was just making his return to the lineup Sunday after missing San Francisco’s previous three games with a minor foot injury, after he fouled a pitch off himself in Wednesday’s 8-6 win over the Rockies.
Lee’s situation adds to the Giants’ recent injury woes, as the team has lost five position players to the IL in a little over a week’s time. Michael Conforto was just placed on the 10-day IL earlier Sunday due to a hamstring strain, with Conforto joining Austin Slater (concussion symptoms), Nick Ahmed (wrist sprain), Jorge Soler (shoulder strain), and backup catcher Tom Murphy (knee sprain) on the sidelines. Patrick Bailey was activated from the seven-day concussion-related IL Saturday, but was a late scratch from Sunday's lineup, as the catcher is dealing with a viral illness and could possibly miss a few more days.
Losing all of these regulars isn’t good news for a team that was already having trouble generating offense, and the Giants will have a particular issue in the outfield with Lee, Conforto, and Slater all out. Luis Matos was called up to take Conforto’s roster spot Sunday, so he’ll join Mike Yastrzemski, Heliot Ramos, and utilityman Tyler Fitzgerald in trying to fill in all the gaps in the outfield depth chart. LaMonte Wade Jr. and Brett Wisely could also chip in for corner outfield duty, and Wade Mecklermight be the next call-up from Triple-A since Meckler is already on the 40-man roster.
For Lee himself, a significant injury would be a very unfortunate way to begin his first season in Major League Baseball. The outfielder signed a six-year, $113M deal (the fourth-largest contract for any free agent last winter) with the Giants back in December, with the team also adding a $18.825M posting fee to the Kiwoom Heroes, Lee’s old Korea Baseball Organization club. Lee doesn’t turn 26 until August, so the combination of his youth and his big numbers in the KBO League made him an attractive commodity in free agency, and the priciest acquisition of a very busy San Francisco offseason.
The results have been mixed over Lee’s first first 37 games, which isn’t surprising for a player getting his first taste of North American baseball whatsoever, let alone the majors. Lee entered Sunday's action hitting .262/.310/.331 over 158 plate appearances, translating to an 89 wRC+. The pluses include some solid center field defense and a lot of contact, as Lee has been one of the hardest hitters in the league to strike out this season. However, Lee hasn’t done much with all his contact, as his hard-hit ball rate is only slightly above average, and he isn’t generating much power.
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