SF Giants call in the kids as Brandon Crawford lands on injured list

LOS ANGELES — Coming to terms with their distant playoff odds, the San Francisco Giants shuffled shortstops Thursday. The kids are in. A short-term rental is out. And the last tether to their World Series era may be on his last legs.

Brandon Crawford, the man who has played more games at shortstop than anyone else in the 141-year history of the franchise, may only have one more in him. He was placed on the injured list Thursday, his right hamstring the latest in a line of ailments, and will only be eligible to be activated next Sunday, for the final game of the season, fittingly, against the Dodgers.

“I guess the only fortunate thing is that there’s the last game,” Crawford said, speaking solemnly in front of his locker in the visiting clubhouse of Dodger Stadium on Thursday. He intends to start at shortstop in Game 162 for the 1,528th and possibly final time. “It’s gonna be emotional, probably. You guys know how emotional I typically get. I don’t know. In a way, I guess I’m looking forward to it just to have that, to have that game.”

Splitting duties in his stead, and perhaps auditioning for the Opening Day job in 2024, will be top prospect Marco Luciano and Tyler Fitzgerald, another young shortstop who has been tearing the cover off the ball all year in Triple-A Sacramento. Fitzgerald, 26, a fourth-round pick in 2019, made his major-league debut in center field, though, a position he just picked up this year and where Kapler said he will see the majority of his playing time over the final week and a half.

As for Crawford’s future, the 36-year-old said Thursday that “I’ve had a lot of thoughts. I don’t have an answer. But I’ve had plenty of thoughts.” His contract is up, and the Pleasanton native, once photographed at 5 years old pleading for the team to stay in San Francisco, may have to choose between never wearing another uniform or playing a 14th season.

The 92 games he has played this year would be the fewest since his rookie season in 2011, which was also the only season he posted an OPS worse than his .595 mark this season. He is batting a career-worst .197, which would end a remarkable career on a remarkably sour note — the only player in the club’s San Francisco era to bat below the Mendoza line while making more than 300 plate appearances.

“Obviously my play wasn’t what I had hoped for,” Crawford said. “Not even close to what I had hoped for this year.”

A two-time World Series champion, Crawford was named an All-Star three times, received MVP votes twice, won four Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger.

Crawford, frequently the recipient of the loudest cheers at home and on the road, will surely be showered with love Sunday, whether he’s activated or not.

Kapler said, “obviously it would mean a lot to Craw. It would mean a lot to me and everybody else in the clubhouse and the organization to see him play that final game here in ‘23.”

If Wednesday’s loss in Arizona does prove to be his final game in a Giants uniform, it’s possible the play that ended his career was initially overlooked.

Crawford said he felt his hamstring “grab” as he sprinted up the first base line on a ground ball in the second inning. But Crawford, understated as always, didn’t draw any attention to the matter. He told first base coach Antoan Richardson he hoped it was just a cramp. It wasn’t. It went unnoticed, even to Logan Webb, until Paul DeJong took his position at shortstop in the bottom of the third.

Understanding only 10 games remain, Crawford said the unfortunate timing of the injury was “the first thing I thought of” and the “most frustrating timing I’ve probably ever had with an injury.” He has previously dealt with problems in his knee, his calf, his forearm and his ribs — all this season.

“It was just a never-ending cycle,” he said. “It was really frustrating.”

The injured list stint is the fourth of the season for Crawford, who had only been sidelined twice in his career before last season. That reliability — eight straight seasons of 140-plus games — never gave the Giants a reason to groom another shortstop in their farm system. But there are now two knocking on the door.

Luciano, the Giants’ top-hitting prospect, has long been regarded as their shortstop of the future, as long as he can stay at the position. Those inside the organization were impressed with the strides he took defensively before this season, and it was rewarded with his first taste of the majors in July. However, he has played only six games since returning from a hamstring strain he suffered shortly after being sent down.

Crawford came away impressed with Luciano during his initial stint in the majors, going 3-for-11 in four games at the end of July.

“I told him his footwork at short had improved a lot and it was impressive,” Crawford said. “It was something that we had talked about before. … It was obviously something that he had worked had on and improved at it. That’s something that you always want to see out of a young guy, that they can take direction and something they’re not great at, work hard at it and improve.”

Kapler said Luciano will likely receive the bulk of the work at shortstop. That could set him up to start there on Opening Day in 2024, ending Crawford’s run of 12 consecutive years. Crawford said he hasn’t given much thought to the Giants’ shortstop of the future, but if it is Luciano, “I’d be happy for him if he is. I’m sure that they want him to be the shortstop of the future for a long time. I know he’s been a prospect (since) as soon as he entered our organization.”

Fitzgerald has put together a 20-20 season since being promoted to Triple-A at the start of May, and gives the Giants a type of athleticism they lack, which was on display this week in Arizona. His 20 home runs and 29 stolen bases both lead the River Cats roster, while batting .287/.358/.499, with an .857 OPS, in 466 plate appearances.

“While making no comparisons,” Kapler brought up the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll, who went 6-for-9 and stole three bases in the two-game series. “When he’s on first base, it’s a double or a triple. You just assume at some point that he’s going to take second base. So it’s almost the equivalent of an extra base hit if he walks or he has a single. Tyler, I wouldn’t go that far, but he’s got the kind of speed that can be game-changing. We want to see if it plays here as well.”

Also …

— RHP Tristan Beck was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento, taking the spot of RHP Sean Hjelle, who was optioned after pitching in Wednesday’s loss to Arizona.

— To create space on the 40-man roster for Fitzgerald, the Giants placed DeJong on irrevocable release waivers. DeJong batted .184/.180/.286 in 18 games since being picked up last month.

— Fitzgerald, a University of Louisville product born and raised in central Illinois, said he would have about five or six close friends and family in attendance for his debut, including his mom, Leann, his dad, Mike, and his fiancee, Sadie Belcher. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he said in the clubhouse before the game. “I’m sure when I walk out for BP, it’ll start to sink in a little bit. Just a lot of hard work put in. To be here is a blessing, a dream come true.”