Giants infielder lands on injured list

The Giants placed infielder Thairo Estrada on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 26) due to a left wrist sprain, per a team announcement. Infielder David Villar was recalled from Triple-A to take Estrada’s place on San Francisco’s roster.

Estrada has been dealing with the injury for a few days, as The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly writes that Estrada hurt himself during a swing in Wednesday’s 7-1 loss to the Twins. After trying to tough it out on Thursday, Estrada was out of the lineup on Friday and will now need at least a 10-day hiatus to recover. The good news is that an MRI revealed just inflammation and no structural damage in Estrada’s wrist.

Estrada has quietly been one of the better all-around players in baseball this season, as only 16 players have a higher fWAR than his 1.9 total. Beyond hitting .301/.345/.466 with six homers and stealing 13 of 16 bases, Estrada’s versatility has also been a weapon for the Giants, as he got a lot of time at shortstop when Brandon Crawford was on the injured list earlier this season. Most of the time, Estrada has settled in as San Francisco’s regular second baseman, and he has also made a few appearances in left field. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco profiled Estrada in greater depth earlier this month, and how the Giants have gotten a ton of return out of a rather unheralded player since acquiring Estrada from the Yankees for cash considerations early in the 2021 season.

There’s no easy way to replicate Estrada’s production over even a 10-day stint, and given the Giants’ penchant for platoons, they probably won’t turn to a single player to replace Estrada. Villar, Brett Wisely, Casey Schmitt and Wilmer Flores could all pitch in at second base, but Schmitt has been seeing an increasing amount of time at shortstop in Crawford’s place.