Wednesday BP: Luis González undergoes back surgery, will be out 16 weeks

Good morning, baseball fans.

I wish I had better news for you today, but unfortunately it looks like Luis González will miss roughly half of the 2023 season.

González, who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox, signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants in December of 2021, after having been selected off of waivers in August. He made his first appearance for the Giants in late April of last season, appearing in 98 games and batting .254/.322/.360 with four home runs and 36 RBI in the 2022 season.

What was a promising rookie season for the young outfielder, however, also showed the early signs of a recurring back injury, causing him to miss time on the injury list twice, before ending the season early with the same injury. This subsequently caused him to be unable to play for his home country of Mexico in the World Baseball Classic due to insurance issues.

This was an early disappointment for González this season, as he had worked hard after 2022 in the hopes of making the Opening Day roster.

Unfortunately, González’ 2023 season has been waylaid by the recurrence of the same back injury, which turned out to be a herniated disc. He underwent spinal surgery on Tuesday for a procedure from which the expected recovery time is approximately 16 weeks, which would have him possibly rehabbing around the time of the All Star break.