John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Giants third baseman Evan Longoria has a fractured fifth metacarpal. He is certainly headed to the disabled list. Though the Giants haven’t yet announced a timetable, it’s the same injury suffered by Madison Bumgarner in spring training on March 23. Bumgarner didn’t make his season debut until June 5, so we can roughly estimate that Longoria will be out for about two and a half months.
Longoria, 32, suffered the injury leading off the top of the fourth inning of Thursday afternoon’s game (an eventual 6-3, 16-inning win) against the Marlins. He ran the bases but was replaced at third base by Alen Hanson in the bottom half of the fourth. Longoria hits the shelf batting .246/.278/.434 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI in 270 plate appearances.
Shea suggests that Brandon Belt could return from the disabled list earlier than expected, perhaps tomorrow even. Pablo Sandoval may be called on to handle third base while Longoria is out. Hanson could also see his playing time increased.
