Giants' Wilmer Flores done for the year due to knee injury

San Francisco Giants infielder Wilmer Flores landed on the 10-day injured list a couple of weeks back due to right knee tendonitis but he won’t be able to return this year. 

The club announced Monday that the veteran would undergo a Tenex procedure, with Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic among those to relay the news on X. Tuesday, manager Bob Melvin announced that Flores won’t be able to come back in what’s left of the season, per Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle on X. 

He’ll be transferred to the 60-day IL as soon as the Giants have a need for his roster spot.

Flores, who turns 33 Tuesday, has had a big drop-off at the plate this year and Melvin believes the knee issue is a big factor there, per Baggarly on X. He hit 23 home runs and slashed .284/.355/.509 in 2023 for a wRC+ of 136. But this year, his line dropped way down to .206/.277/.318, leading to a wRC+ of just 71. 

The right knee tendonitis put him on the IL twice this year, as he first landed on the shelf June 28 and was reinstated July 9, though he landed back there a couple of weeks later.

In September 2022, the Giants and Flores agreed to a contract extension that would pay him $6.5M in each of the two following seasons with a player/club option for 2025. The way the options works is that Flores first has to decide whether or not to trigger a $3.5M option. If he declines, the club then decides whether or not to trigger an $8.5M option.

That deal looked like a steal for the club throughout 2023 when Flores was having arguably the best offensive performance of his career, but it’s obviously taken a turn here in 2024. Based on his poor performance and injury, it seems fair to expect that Flores will be triggering that player option and coming back for 2025. 

The Giants will then have to hope that Melvin’s assessment of the situation is correct and that improved knee health will lead to better results next year.

Flores had mostly been playing first base over the past couple of years, with a bit of time at third base as well and a tiny sliver of playing time at second. Matt Chapman as the hot corner well covered for now and LaMonte Wade Jr. is having a great year at first, though he almost never gets sent up to the plate against lefties. Mark Canha taking the small side of the platoon with Wade since being acquired prior to the deadline.

How the infield looks next year will depend on various factors. As mentioned, Flores can trigger a player option and come back next year. Chapman has the ability to opt out of his deal and return to the open market, which seems likely at the moment since he’s having a great season, but it’s fair to wonder how much time the Giants would want Flores to spend at third on the heels of these knee problems. 

Canha is an impending free agent and won’t be in the mix next year, which perhaps leaves an opening for Flores to both platoon with Wade at first and take some time as the designated hitter, with the DH spot more open now that Jorge Soler has been traded to Atlanta.