MLB News: Giants Lose Outfielder Angel Pagan

If you thought yesterday’s 3-1 loss to the L.A Dodgers was a bad omen for Giants’ fans, then you wait for the real bad news.  Outfielder Angel Pagan, who played a key role in last year’s World Series, will be out for most of the season.

The team announced Monday that Pagan will undergo surgery on his left hamstring and could be out of the field for up to 12 weeks, which means that he wouldn’t be able to play again until mid-September, when the Giants have only 12 games remaining in their regular season schedule.

"It's a loss. There's no getting around it. When you lose your leadoff hitter, the guy who led off for you all the way through the World Series and played a significant role helping you win a World Series, there's no question it's a loss." Commented Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy.

The 31-year old Pagan suffered a minor injury about a month ago after hitting a walk-off inside-the-park home run off of Colorado Rockies' reliever Rafael Betancourt.  But this weekend, Pagan, who was expected to rejoin the starting lineup by this week, reinjured his left hamstring while he was on rehab leave with the San Jose Giants against the Stockton Ports.

Known by his team mates as “El Caballo Loco” (Crazy Horse), Pagan is hitting .262/.314/.374 with 10 doubles, one triple, three homers, 24 RBI and 30 runs scored in 46 games.  Last offseason pagan signed a four-year; $45 million contract to remain in San Francisco. With Pagan out, the Giants are likely to move Gregor Blanco to the centerfield and have either rookie Juan Perez or Andres Torres in the mix.  Previous to this chance, Blanco had an efficient performance as a center fielder, contributing solid defense and batting .305 with a .367 on-base percentage and a .402 slugging percentage in 24 games.

Pagan is one of the many Giants’ players that have sustained injuries this season. The list also includes baseman Marco Scutaro (left pinkie), left-hander Jeremy Affeldt (right side), right-handers Santiago Casilla (right knee) and Ryan Vogelsong (right pinkie) and third baseman Pablo Sandoval (strained left foot).  Now, not everything is bad news for San Francisco, as it’s been reported early this week; the Giants activated baseman Pablo Sandoval from the disabled list after two weeks of absence.

The Giants face the Dodgers in the second game of a three-game series  held in Los Angeles. For more information, including MLB Betting Odds, click here.