Miguel Tejada to DL; Giants Recall Brandon Belt
By Editorial Staff
The Giants have placed Miguel Tejada on the disabled list with a lower abdominal strain, and in a corresponding roster move recalled first baseman Brandon Belt from Triple-A.
Tejada sustained the injury during Monday night’s contest against the Dodgers. While attempting to field a ground ball off of the bat of Rafael Furcal, Tejada injured his side and had to exit the game.
San Francisco originally believed the injury wasn’t very serious and wouldn’t cause Tejada to miss extensive time. The Giants thought that their infielder would only require a day or two off before returning.
But Tuesday an MRI showed more severe damage than estimated, and the club made the roster move as it became evident Tejada would need at least a few weeks to recover.
Tejada has split time between third base and shortstop this season, moving primarily over to short after Pablo Sandoval returned from the DL.
Many question his defensive ability, especially as a shortstop. Tejada’s done little to silence his critics as he leads the Giants with 10 errors this season.
Overall, the 37 year old’s production at the plate has continued its downward spiral. On the season, Tejada’s only been able to muster an OPS of .609 in just over 300 at bats.
The timing of the injury couldn’t be worse for Tejada as the veteran was finally showing signs of life this month, posting a line of .333/.387/.524 in July.
Belt began the year with the Giants before facing struggles and a trip to the disabled list at the end of May. When Belt was activated, he was immediately optioned to the minors to regain his confidence at the plate.
Since then the top prospect has raked in the minors, with an OPS of 1.024 with 7 home runs and 33 RBI’s in 47 games.
It didn’t take very long for Belt to make his presence known. The 23 year old stepped in for Aubrey Huff last night, manning first and batting 6th for the Giants, belting his 2nd homer of the year before driving in the deciding run with a 2 RBI double to give San Francisco the win over the Dodgers.
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