The San Francisco Giants were content to play through one infielder injury, but not a second one. On Wednesday, ahead of their series finale against the Diamondbacks, the team announced that third baseman Matt Chapman had been placed on the 10-Day Injured List with an abdominal strain. Taking his place on the roster is fellow infielder Christian Koss, who was technically called up from AAA Sacramento, though he had been rehabbing an injury of his own in the Arizona Complex League at the time of the call up.
San Francisco has been playing down an infielder for a few games, after shortstop Willy Adames suffered a mild enough injury that the team decided not to place him on the IL, even though he wasn’t available. That resulted in a debacle during Tuesday’s loss when Chapman injured his abdominal, took his next at-bat anyway due to a lack of infielders on the bench, and appeared to worsen the injury before finally leaving the game. That resulted in center fielder Jonah Cox playing second base, while second baseman Luis Arráez shifted to third.
With Chapman out, Casey Schmitt — who has been playing all over the diamond this year — will become an everyday player at his best position. Koss, who is in the lineup tonight, will presumably by the everyday shortstop until Adames is able to play again. And until Adames is able to play again, the Giants will once again operate without a backup infielder, which is a very functional way to do things.
