SAN FRANCISCO — Keaton Winn’s sophomore season began with such promise. Now, he’s going under the knife.
The Giants announced on Friday that Winn will undergo season-ending surgery — an ulnar nerve transposition — in Los Angeles on Monday with Dr. Steven Shin.
Additionally, infielder Thairo Estrada has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist sprain. In a corresponding move, infielder Casey Schmitt has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.
“It’s been frustrating for him,” said manager Bob Melvin. “He’s never really felt great through this whole process.”
Winn, 26, finishes his sophomore season with a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts across 55 1/3 innings with 48 strikeouts. He is the second player on the team’s Opening Day roster to undergo season-ending surgery, the other being outfielder Jung Hoo Lee (left shoulder). Prior to the injury issues, Winn was well on pace for a career year.
Winn began the season as part of the Giants’ rotation, finishing April with a 3.18 ERA over 34 innings in six starts. But Winn’s fortunes turned once the calendar flipped to May.
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Following three tough starts to begin the month (8.1 innings, 17 earned runs allowed, 18.36 ERA), Winn was placed on the injured list on May 17 with a right forearm strain. He was activated off the injured list on June 9, but after three more brutal outings (13 innings, 15 earned runs, 10.38 ERA), he went back on the injured list on June 22 with right elbow inflammation. Now, his season is over.
In more encouraging news, right-hander Alex Cobb is scheduled to make a rehab start with Single-A San Jose on Friday and pitch five innings. If all things go according to plan, he will pitch on Tuesday against the A’s.
Cobb, 36, recovered well from offseason left hip surgery but has not pitched this season due to a lingering right shoulder issue. Entering Friday, Cobb has appeared in five rehab outings (one with the Arizona Complex League, one with Triple-A Sacramento, three with San Jose).
Last season, Cobb earned his first career All-Star appearance and finished the year with a 3.87 ERA in 28 starts over 151 1/3 innings.
For Estrada, this is the second time this season that he’s been placed on the injured list with a left wrist sprain, the other instance being on June 28. According to Melvin, even as Estrada was activated off the injured list on July 9, the issue never fully went away. Melvin cited an at-bat that Estrada had on Sunday against the Dodgers’ Joe Kelly — Estrada fouled off a pair of inside sinkers — that re-aggravated the ailment.
The 28-year-old infielder is in the midst of his worst season of his career, posting career lows in batting average (.216), on-base percentage (.249) and slugging percentage (.353).
Schmitt, 25, has spent a good chunk of the season with Sacramento, where he has a slash line of .282/.343/.489 with 13 home runs and 10 steals. In 12 games with the Giants, Schmitt is hitting .220 with two home runs and a .628 OPS.
Additional injury updates
Tristan Beck (vascular injury) threw a bullpen on Friday and will start throwing live bullpens next week.
Wilmer Flores (left wrist sprain) will be re-evaluated by team doctors this weekend.
Tom Murphy (left knee sprain) is dealing with inflammation behind his knee and in his hamstring. He saw Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Thursday in Los Angeles, and his baseball activity will be limited over the weekend.
Ethan Small (right oblique strain) is scheduled to pitch one inning on Saturday for San Jose.