The San Francisco Giants haven’t had a lot of good news lately, and Tuesday was certainly no exception. Not only did the team lose a feckless 5-1 game to the San Diege Padres, but they were hit with an unfortunate injury update. After four rehab appearances, left-handed reliever Erik Miller has been shut down for at least two weeks. The team announced that MRIs, while not showing any structural damage, revealed inflammation in Miller’s left elbow, which is what sent him to the Injury List in the first
place. Now it’s keeping him on there.
It seems likely that Miller’s season is done. The Giants are not currently in the postseason race, and seem unlikely to get into it anytime this calendar year. Even if they were, Joey Lucchesi and Matt Gage have pitched better than Miller by most measures. So there’s simply no reason to push Miller, who figures to factor into the bullpen for many years to come. And elbows, as we know all too well, are not something to mess with. Here’s hoping he can avoid anything more serious than inflammation, and be fully healthy when pitchers and catcher report in — wait for it — less than six months.
In other injury news, Willy Adames’ rare absence from Tuesday’s lineup was due to side soreness, so there’s a chance he could miss another game or two. Matt Chapman is recovering well and responded positively to a cortisone shot, and could return by the weekend. And Jerar Encarnación will begin his throwing and hitting progression this week, so there’s still a chance we see him again this season.
