Giants place struggling three-time All-Star on injured list

The San Francisco Giants announced that shortstop Brandon Crawford has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 17, with left knee inflammation. Infielder David Villar was recalled in a corresponding move. Additionally, Bryce Johnson was returned to Sacramento after serving as the club’s “27th man” on Tuesday.

Crawford, 36, has been dealing with left knee issues on-and-off for over a year now. He twice went on the injured list due to that knee last summer and was shut down in spring training this year as well. Whether it’s due to the lingering knee problems or not, Crawford's offensive production has been sliding of late. He was above-average at the plate in 2020 and 2021 but hit .231/.308/.344 last year and is down to .207/.285/.333 here in 2023. His grades from advanced defensive metrics are also at a low ebb this year compared to those of previous seasons.

Middle infield already stood out as an area for the club to target at the deadline, something that president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi recently admitted after Thairo Estrada landed on the injured list due to a hand fracture. It doesn’t seem as though Crawford is in line for an extended absence, given that he was hoping to avoid the injured list as recently as Tuesday, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Since the move is retroactive, the veteran shortstop could potentially return in just over a week. But with the Giants' middle infield already a target area and Crawford’s pesky knee issues cropping up again, it could perhaps only increase the club’s desire to make an addition. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently highlighted some potential names the club could look to bring aboard. It’s possible the guys on that list capable of playing some shortstop might become higher priorities.

In the meantime, San Francisco figures to use some combination of Villar, Casey Schmitt and Brett Wisely to cover the middle infield, though none of that trio is hitting much this year. Villar has slashed .159/.244/.345 while Schmitt has a line of .224/.269/.318. For his part, Wisely is at .198/.241/.307. The Giants own a 54-41 record and currently hold the top wild-card spot in the National League, in addition to being just one game back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West division. The trade deadline is August 1.