Nori Aoki Injury: Updates on Giants OF's Leg and Return

San Francisco Giants outfielder Nori Aoki was placed on the disabled list after suffering a fractured right fibula in Saturday's 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Continue for updates.

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Bochy Says Aoki Will Be out for 'Weeks'

Wednesday, June 24

Giants manager Bruce Bochy revealed an X-ray uncovered the fracture after Aoki complained of pain during batting practice before Tuesday's loss to the San Diego Padres.

"It's a blow for us," Bochy said, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. "You hate to see it happen to him."

The Giants have not set a definitive timetable for his return. Schulman's report indicates he's expected to be out for "weeks."

The Giants leadoff hitter initially went down when Dodgers starter Carlos Frias hit his leg with a pitch Saturday. While he stayed in to run the bases, Aoki left the game before the bottom half of the first inning and missed San Francisco's next two contests.

Aoki is batting .317/.383/.385 with two home runs, 19 RBI and 12 steals this season. The latest National League All-Star ballot returns had him fourth among outfielders, than 400,000 votes away from getting a starting spot.

Losing Aoki for any amount of time is a serious blow for the Giants, who are also without outfielder Hunter Pence. He gives them a much-needed source of speed and consistency at the top of the lineup, and his production and consistency will be tough for them to replace.

Schulman noted the team was likely to call up first baseman Travis Ishikawa and broke down why the move would make sense:

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He would provide a left-handed bat to replace Aoki's. Plus, manager Bruce Bochy would have the flexibility to move Brandon Belt to left field while having Ishikawa play first base against right-handed pitchers, while leaving Buster Posey behind the plate for the most part.

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If the team opts to keep Belt at first, outfielder Gregor Blanco is the likeliest candidate to fill in for Aoki during his absence. While Blanco lacks Aoki's consistency, he's a decent backup option, hitting .283/.361/.417 with one home run and nine RBI on the season. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.