Last Aug. 24, Brandon Belt picked up four hits and hit two homers in a game in New York, kickstarting what would be one of his best months as a professional. A year later, Belt is searching for solutions.
The Giants on Wednesday placed Belt on the IL with right knee inflammation. It's a problem that has bothered him for years -- the knee has twice been surgically-repaired -- but has been especially compromising this season. To fill the roster spot, the Giants recalled center fielder Bryce Johnson from Triple-A Sacramento.
The IL stint is the third of the year for Belt, who earlier missed 23 games with the same issue. He has never gotten into a rhythm this season and the struggles have been particularly glaring in August. Belt is hitting .135 this month and hasn't homered since July 17. He made waves last week by bunting with two outs and two strikes late in a game, and on this road trip he has been dropped in the lineup.
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The Giants have been trying to ride it out with Belt because his defense is a stabilizing factor for a team that has struggled in that area. But on Tuesday, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters in Detroit that he feels a refresh can help Belt, as it did for Brandon Crawford a few weeks ago. After an off day for the team, Belt wasn't in Tuesday's lineup in Detroit.
"Brandon texted me a couple hours ago and he just mentioned that his knee was a little extra sore today," Kapler said. "We discussed it when he came in. We talked about, 'Hey, we need your engine to be right for you to get over this hump performance-wise.' In order for you to perform in the batter's box, your body has to be feeling good. It's sort of what we talked about with Craw a while back now. Brandon (Belt) and I talked about it and we decided to take him out of the lineup.
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We'll consider if he's available to pinch-hit for us but only if the engine is right and he can ramp up and feel strong and confident in the batter's box."
San Francisco Giants
Wilmer Flores started at first base for the Giants on Wednesday. LaMonte Wade Jr. and J.D. Davis can also play first and Joc Pederson has been taking ground balls recently.