Weekend BP: Mitch Haniger update

Happy weekend, San Francisco Giants fans.

The Giants suffered a pretty unfortunate injury on Tuesday, when outfielder Mitch Haniger fractured his right forearm after getting hit by a pitch.

On Friday, the Giants offered an update on Haniger, a Bay Area native whom they signed to a three-year deal over the offseason. The Giants say that Haniger underwent successful surgery on Thursday in Los Angeles, on the team’s off day. If we’re getting mildly technical, it was a surgery to repair a fractured ulna, with screws and plates inserted during the surgery.

According to the Giants, the estimate for Haniger’s recovery is 10 weeks. It certainly goes without saying that he could come back sooner than that, or quite a bit later.

Two important things about that timeline. First off, 10 weeks is 70 days, which means the Giants will almost surely move Haniger from the 10-day Injured List to the 60-day Injured List at some point, which will open up a spot on the 40-man roster. Second, it means that Haniger could very much return this season, which wasn’t a sure thing at all.

If Haniger is, indeed, fully recovered in 10 weeks, that puts us at late August. Even if you account for a rehab stint to get back to speed, that leaves plenty of time for Haniger to return, as the Giants regular season doesn’t end until October 1.

That could be big, depending on what the Giants outfield looks like in a few months. Haniger hasn’t had a good year, but he was really finding his groove lately. In the 15 games before the injury, Haniger hit 17-59 with two home runs, six doubles, and five walks, good for an .845 OPS.

It’s such a bummer for Haniger, but if it’s any consolation, rehabbing a forearm is much nicer than rehabbing a lower body injury, which he’s had to do a few times. There won’t be nearly as much physical therapy required, and he’ll still be able to travel with the Giants and stay a part of the team.

Heal up, Mitch!

What time do the Giants play this weekend?

The Giants finish up their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a Saturday night game at 6:10 p.m. PT, and a Sunday afternoon game at 1:10 p.m. PT.