Posey to miss ASG after hitting IL (thumb)
Maria Guardado
@mi_guardadoSAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants on Friday placed catcher Buster Posey on the 10-day injured list with a left thumb contusion, retroactive to Tuesday. The move rules out the 34-year-old veteran for the remainder of the first half and for the 2021 All-Star Game at Coors Field on Tuesday.
A seven-time All-Star, Posey was voted to start behind the plate for the National League on Tuesday, but he said he won¡¯t make the trip to Denver and will instead use the break to try to get healthy for the second half and spend more time with his family.
¡°Obviously, I¡¯m disappointed,¡± Posey said. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to play in the game. I know my oldest two [kids] were excited about being there. But these things happen and you move on.¡±
Posey hasn't played since injuring his thumb on a foul tip while behind the plate in Sunday's 5-2 win over the D-backs at Chase Field. Posey said he initially feared he had fractured his thumb, though he and the Giants caught a break when X-rays came back negative. An MRI exam on Thursday subsequently revealed a bone bruise.
¡°Having experienced bone bruises on the heel from running, they can be pretty painful and you can re-aggravate them fairly easily,¡± manager Gabe Kapler said. ¡°I imagine being back there catching balls that are moving all over the place, one additional ball caught the wrong way can be a setback, so I think this is the cautious, the prudent and the right approach to get him ready for the second half.¡±
Posey said he still can¡¯t catch or swing a bat, but he expressed optimism that he¡¯ll be ready to return to the lineup when the Giants open their second half in St. Louis on July 16. He resumed throwing on the field before Friday night¡¯s series opener against the Nationals, but he wasn¡¯t wearing a glove on his injured hand and had a team trainer catch the returns for him.
¡°All in all, I¡¯m pretty lucky that it doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯ll miss too much time,¡± Posey said.
The injury disrupted a resurgent campaign for Posey, who is batting .328 with a .968 OPS and 12 home runs over 58 games for the first-place Giants.
With Posey unavailable, Curt Casali and Chadwick Tromp have been splitting time behind the plate for the Giants. Top prospect Joey Bart also joined the team in a taxi-squad capacity on Friday and could be an option to be activated this weekend, according to Kapler.
To replace Posey on the 26-man roster, the Giants activated right-hander Logan Webb (shoulder strain), who came off the IL and started against the Nationals on Friday.