SF Giants outfielder Mitch Haniger to begin rehab assignment

Mitch Haniger, the SF Giants most expensive free-agent signing this offseason, appears to be nearing his regular-season debut.

Marc Delucchi | Apr 18, 2023

SF Giants outfielder Mitch Haniger to begin rehab assignment /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants will have outfielder Mitch Haniger begin a minor-league rehab assignment on Tuesday, according to a report by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Haniger will presumably join the Sacramento River Cats at Triple-A. The 32-year-old outfielder has been out since the middle of March with a grade 1 oblique strain. It looks like he may be able to make his regular-season debut with the team at some point during their next homestand.

Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger stands in the batter's box. (2022) / Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

Haniger was the Giants costliest free-agent signing this offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $43.5 million contract to join the team. A Mountain View, California native, Haniger has been an incredibly productive outfielder throughout his career. However, injuries have often limited his availability. From 2017-2022, Haniger only appeared in at least 100 games twice.

When healthy, though, Haniger has been a potent right-handed bat, particularly against left-handed pitching. Given the Giants early-season struggles against southpaws, getting Haniger back in the lineup would be a welcome sight.

Haniger was selected to the All-Star game in 2018 and finished 11th in American League Most Valuable Player Award voting that season. He hit .285/.366/.493 with 26 home runs. In 2021, Haniger blasted a career-high 39 homers with a .253/.318/.485 line.

The Giants are hopeful that Haniger can return to his previous levels of production. Haniger is coming off a down 2022 season when he only appeared in 57 games last season, and posted the worst triple-slash of his career with the Seattle Mariners (.246/.308/.429).

The Giants have been missing right-handed hitting outfielders Austin Slater and Mitch Haniger so far this season. Slater began a minor-league rehab assignment at Triple-A over the weekend, and it appears Haniger is not far behind. With Joc Pederson on the injured list and Michael Conforto dealing with a nagging injury, the SF Giants have been arguably missing their four best-hitting outfielders.

Published Apr 18, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).