Giants Outfielder Heads to Injured List With Oblique Issue

The dreaded oblique injury has claimed another victim this baseball season, as the San Francisco Giants have lost key platoon outfielder Steven Duggar for what is "unlikely to be a brief period of time".

Steven Duggar is heading to the IL. LaMonte Wade Jr., who was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at AAA tomorrow, isn’t being considered as an option to be activated.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) April 21, 2022

According to Evan Webeck of the Mercury News, Duggar "could be unavailable well beyond" the 10 days of his IL stint. Oblique injuries are especially difficult to recover from for hitters, who activate those muscles every time they swing the bat. 

Duggar had gotten a heavy run of late, as the Giants have faced a long stretch of tough right-handers, for which Duggar's left-handed bat is always called upon by manager Gabe Kapler. 

And although left-handed hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. is nearing his return from a knee injury he suffered during spring training, he's just about to begin a rehab assignment this weekend at Triple-A, so will not be activated to replace Dugar just yet. 

Duggar is off to a bit of a slow start at the plate this season, hitting only .200 in 35 at-bats, though he does have a league-leading 4 stolen bases. 

Photo Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports