San Francisco Giants May Have Also Hidden Injuries
By David Hill
The San Diego Padres are under fire for potentially hiding injuries in their trades at the deadline, but they may not have been the only team to do so. There are now questions about the health of former San Francisco Giants prospect Lucius Fox.
When the Tampa Bay Rays sent Matt Moore to the San Francisco Giants, one of the key pieces they received in return was young shortstop Lucius Fox. A fast middle infielder, Fox has had 25 stolen bases in his first season of minor league ball, but had a mere .207/.305/.277 batting line with 12 extra base hits. Nonetheless, the 18 year old was considered to be one of the Giants best prospects, and a future building block for the Rays.
However, the Rays will not get a chance to see what they have in Fox firsthand until next year. It turns out that he has a severe bone bruise in his foot, the result of fouling off a ball a week before the trade occurred, which will cause Fox to miss four to six weeks.
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While the Rays intend on keeping Fox, they do plan on seeking additional compensation from the Giants. Although he had been playing through the pain in his foot, the Rays claimed not to be aware of the injury, leading to a situation where they will need to work through the MLB to receive further compensation for their departed pitcher.
On the heels of the Colin Rea debacle, and the likely investigation by Major League Baseball, one has to wonder as to how commonplace it is for teams to be misleading about injuries. While it is possible that neither the Padres nor the Giants knew about these issues prior to the trades, it is highly unlikely. After all, Rea had been taking medication for his elbow woes, and the Giants front office knew that Fox was playing through the bruise, even though he was in the lineup every day.
It is possible that Fox will still be a valuable addition for the Tampa Bay Rays. The fleet footed shortstop could prove to be the answer, solidifying a position that has been a bit of a revolving door since the days of Julio Lugo. However, he is still a long way away, and this injury will further push back his development.
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It may be questionable as to how much the San Francisco Giants knew about Lucius Fox’s injury, but after the situation involving Colin Rea and the Marlins, it makes sense to have the MLB take a deeper look into the transaction. The Tampa Bay Rays may well have a case to get an even better return for Matt Moore than expected.