Austin Slater placed on IL with a left groin strain

The San Francisco Giants were hit with some bad news on Saturday, when they had to place hot-hitting outfielder Austin Slater on the Injured List.

Slater — who had already been relegated to designated hitter only, due to elbow soreness — came out of of Friday’s win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning, when he came up lame heading to third base.

After an MRI, it was determined that he had a left groin strain, and to the IL he goes. He’s replaced on the roster by left-handed outfielder Steven Duggar, who was called up for the third time already this season.

It’s tough news for both the Giants and for Slater, as the right-handed hitter had been absolutely crushing the ball thus far this season. He enters the IL hitting 17-49 with 4 home runs, 1 triple, 1 double, 8 walks, and a league-best 6 stolen bases. That’s a slash line of .347/.458/.653, which is outrageously good.

Slater was also hitting right-handed pitchers well, which represented a nice improvement, and a step towards being an everyday player.

Hopefully he’s able to return to the active roster at the end of the 10-day stint. The Giants lineup could absolutely use Slater’s bat (and glove and legs, for that matter), and he certainly deserves a chance to continue proving that he’s a quality MLB player.

As for Duggar, he’ll likely hang around until Slater returns, so he’ll get a chance to get his bat going after a slow start in his first two stints.