SF Giants outfielder Mitch Haniger suffers Grade 1 oblique strain

The SF Giants costliest free-agent signing of the offseason has suffered an oblique injury. Will Mitch Haniger be back by Opening Day?

Marc Delucchi | Mar 11, 2023

SF Giants outfielder Mitch Haniger suffers Grade 1 oblique strain /

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants will be without one of their most significant offseason acquisitions over the next week after outfielder Mitch Haniger suffered a Grade 1 oblique strain. Haniger was the Giants costliest free-agent signing this offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $43.5 million contract. While Giants manager Gabe Kapler was hopeful Haniger will be ready by Opening Day, there is no timetable for his return.

Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger hits a double against the Blue Jays. (2022) — SF Giants outfielder Mitch Haniger doubles during his tenure with the Mariners. (2022) / Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Haniger will rest for the next 5-7 days before he is reevaluated and hopefully begins ramping up to his return. But Kapler acknowledged in a conversation with reporters, "Obliques are challenging."

Haniger has suffered an oblique strain before, missing roughly six weeks with the Mariners back in 2017. However, he told reporters on Saturday that the 2017 injury felt noticeably worse, "It's way less severe." Granted, Haniger is now 32.

Of course, the news is concerning given Haniger's struggles with injuries over the past few years. From 2017-2022, Haniger has only appeared in at least 100 games twice. Last season, Haniger severely sprained his ankle in late April and missed three months. He hit 11 home runs with a .246/.308/.429 triple-slash in just 57 games.

When healthy, Haniger has been a consistent, above-average outfielder. He received his lone All-Star selection in 2018 when he hit 26 home runs with a .285/.366/.493 line and finished 11th in American League MVP voting. He sat out the 2020 season after having multiple surgeries but came back in 2021 to blast a career-high 39 homers.

Haniger has primarily played right field throughout his big-league career, but advanced metrics have been critical of his defensive performance there. However, the SF Giants hope to allow Mitch Haniger to become an everyday left fielder by using superior defenders like Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater, and Michael Conforto to handle the lion's share of right field duties.

Published Mar 11, 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).