Giants ace to miss 'several weeks, at least'

Giants starter Alex Wood left his start on Tuesday in the third inning after straining his hamstring while fielding a bunt. San Francisco placed him on the 15-day injured list the next morning, and it seems he’s in for an absence well beyond that minimum.

San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler told reporters Thursday evening Wood will be out “several weeks, at least,” via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. There’s still not a ton of specificity in that timeline, but it’s clear he won’t be back in early May.

It’s another unfortunate issue for Wood, a typically effective pitcher who has battled various injury concerns throughout his career. The left-hander only topped 150 innings in four of his first 10 MLB seasons. He’s had at least one IL stint in every year since 2015. Back and shoulder issues have typically been his most nagging concerns, but he’s now in for a notable absence due to a lower half injury.

While Wood missed a bit of time in both 2021 and '22, he managed to make 26 starts in each of those seasons. He posted a 3.83 ERA through 138 2/3 innings during his first year in San Francisco. The Giants re-signed him on a two-year, $25M contract headed into 2022. Wood surrendered a 5.10 ERA over 130 2/3 frames last year.

That middling run prevention came with far better peripherals. He posted better than average strikeout, walk and ground-ball marks. A .315 batting average on balls in play and low 63.9% left-on-base rate were the main culprits for Wood allowing more than five earned runs per nine. Estimators like FIP (3.76) and SIERA (3.45) felt he deserved quite a bit better.

Wood had been off to an OK start in 2023. He’d allowed four runs (two earned) through his first 10 innings. The 32-year-old had walked six batters but fanned 11. He’ll have to put things on pause for a while before trying to reestablish himself in advance of next offseason’s free agency. Offseason signee Ross Stripling now looks likely to return to the rotation alongside Logan Webb, Sean Manaea, Alex Cobb and Anthony DeSclafani. Stripling had been set to work primarily as a multi-inning reliever after struggling with home runs through the season’s first couple of weeks.