Houston – The Giants have learned that Mike Yastrzemski will be on the injured list on Monday. But he wasn’t alone.
Yastrzemski was joined by Brandon Crawford, who injured his calf on Saturday in Mexico City, the day before Yastrzemski injured his hamstring. To fill out the roster, utility man Brett Weasley and outfielder Cal Stephenson were called up from Triple-A.
Yastrzemski and Crawford took back-to-back MRIs on Monday and got surprising results. Crawford is feeling better than he did over the weekend, but the MRI showed a 1-plus strain. Yastrzemski’s hamstring strain looked like it might keep him out of Mayo entirely, but he also only has a Grade 1 strain, the lowest of the three.
“I think that’s a huge relief,” said manager Gabe Kapler. “The way Yaz walked off the field, I was worried you’d be without him for a month or six weeks or longer.”
Yastrzemski said Sunday that he may have to extend Mustache May to June, but it now looks likely that the Giants will bring him back later this month. He said he was happy with the result of the MRI but would be smart about the rehab process.
“Hopefully this takes something out of the schedule, but obviously we’re just going to be careful because it’s one of those things that can re-aggravate and I don’t want to miss any more time than I have to now,” Yastrzemski said.
Crawford won’t be hitting Crawford’s bins in left field at Minute Maid Park this week, but don’t expect him to miss long. He said he hopes to return when he becomes eligible in 10 days. Without Crawford, Thairo Estrada would see most of the action at shortstop.
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He can also play short wise but will mainly split time in the center with Stevenson. The Giants have been playing Austin Slater slacker since he came out of IL with elbow soreness, and while Bryce Johnson passed a concussion test, he still has enough mild symptoms that he’s not even close to a comeback.
Stevenson was acquired in April from the Oakland A’s and said he was surprised to be in the big leagues so quickly, but the Giants need the depth of the field. The Fremont native went 5-for-19 in five games with Triple-A Sacramento and is known as a good defender.
“He’s defense first, but he’s been swinging well at Triple-A for us,” said Kapler.
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