Pablo Sandoval Injury: Giants Have Replacements, but Are Any of Them Good?

If you're a major-league third baseman, be careful out there. 

This week, the Tampa Bay Rays lost Evan Longoria for six-to-eight weeks with a partially torn hamstring. Elsewhere in the AL East, Kevin Youkilis is out for the Boston Red Sox due to a back injury.

Both players join the Washington Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman, who went on the disabled list late last week with shoulder inflammation. 

And now, Pablo Sandoval becomes the latest member of the injured All-Star hot-corner club. As CSN Bay Area's Andrew Baggarly reported, the San Francisco Giants' third baseman was diagnosed with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand after Wednesday's game against the Miami Marlins.

Sandoval came out of the game following the sixth inning, when he felt pain after hitting a ground ball off the end of his bat. But according to reports, Sandoval hurt his hand earlier, likely on Sunday. The hand was still bothering him Tuesday night, but he tried to play through it. 

The Giants are saying Sandoval will be out four-to-six weeks. They actually have an excellent point of reference for that timetable: Sandoval himself. Last year (at almost the exact same point of the season), Sandoval fractured the hamate bone in his right hand. Six weeks later, he returned to the lineup.

Sandoval has led the Giants with five home runs and 15 RBI. Though he'll return by mid-June, six weeks is a long time for a team's best power bat to be missing from its already struggling lineup.

There are plenty of replacement options on the Giants' roster, but which of them will come closest to replacing Sandoval's production?

In-House Options

Ryan Theriot, Joaquin Arias and Brett Pill each have experience playing third base in the majors. But, the term "experience" should be used loosely, as all three players have played less than five games at that position. 

Aubrey Huff, who is sidelined right now, has 360 games logged at third base. But he hasn't played there since 2008. If Bruce Bochy wants Huff in the lineup (and to keep Brandon Belt at first base), however, it's probably better to stick him at third than in the outfield.

Another possibility is Freddy Sanchez, once he recovers from his shoulder injury. Sanchez has played 172 games at the hot corner. But he's still trying to build the strength back in his shoulder. And if his shoulder is a question while throwing from second base, there's no way he's capable of handling the duties from third. 

That probably leaves Conor Gillaspie as Bochy's only option. Third base is the 24-year-old's natural position. And best of all for the Giants, he can hit. Gillaspie was batting .362/.417/.521 with three homers and 13 RBI in 104 plate appearances at Triple-A.

Mr. Outside Hire

It's doubtful that general manager Brian Sabean would look outside the current roster unless Sandoval is out for much longer than six weeks. 

On the waiver wire, Jorge Cantu just opted out of his minor-league contract with the Angels. The Colorado Rockies have expressed interest, according to The Denver Post's Troy Renck, as Chris Nelson and Jonathan Herrera aren't producing as hoped. But there's some question as to whether Cantu can still play third base, as he's been more of a first baseman in recent years.

Miguel Tejada? The Giants already tried that, and it didn't go very well.

Casey Blake? If his back allowed him to play, he'd be with the Rockies right now.

Before Giants fans begin to scream (if they haven't already), there are some viable trade candidates. 

The Seattle Mariners would surely love to get rid of Chone Figgins and his contract, but he's struggling to hit .200 these days, and it's doubtful the Giants would want to pay what remains of ridiculously overpriced contract. 

Mark Reynolds is off to a horrible start with the Baltimore Orioles, batting .136/.260/.197. Where did his power go? Those 31 strikeouts in 77 plate appearances would look better if there were some home runs to go with them. But Reynolds has yet to go deep this year. 

I'm sorry, Giants fans. Going over trade possibilities was supposed to make you stop screaming, not make it worse.

Well, maybe those six weeks will whiz by and before you know it, Sandoval will be back in the lineup. Or, Gillaspie will develop into a contributor. That's probably the best the Giants can hope for at this point.

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