SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants on Friday placed catcher Buster Posey on the 10-day injured list with a left thumb contusion, retroactive to Tuesday. The move rules out the 34-year-old veteran for the remainder of the first half and for the 2021 All-Star Game at Coors Field on Tuesday.
A seven-time All-Star, Posey was voted to start behind the plate for the National League on Tuesday, but he said he won’t make the trip to Denver and will instead use the break to try to get healthy for the second half and spend more time with his family.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed,” Posey said. “It’s an honor to play in the game. I know my oldest two [kids] were excited about being there. But these things happen and you move on.”
Posey hasn't played since injuring his thumb on a foul tip while behind the plate in Sunday's 5-2 win over the D-backs at Chase Field. Posey said he initially feared he had fractured his thumb, though he and the Giants caught a break when X-rays came back negative. An MRI exam on Thursday subsequently revealed a bone bruise.
“Having experienced bone bruises on the heel from running, they can be pretty painful and you can re-aggravate them fairly easily,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “I imagine being back there catching balls that are moving all over the place, one additional ball caught the wrong way can be a setback, so I think this is the cautious, the prudent and the right approach to get him ready for the second half.”
Posey said he still can’t catch or swing a bat, but he expressed optimism that he’ll be ready to return to the lineup when the Giants open their second half in St. Louis on July 16. He resumed throwing on the field before Friday night’s series opener against the Nationals, but he wasn’t wearing a glove on his injured hand and had a team trainer catch the returns for him.
“All in all, I’m pretty lucky that it doesn’t seem like I’ll miss too much time,” Posey said.
The injury disrupted a resurgent campaign for Posey, who is batting .328 with a .968 OPS and 12 home runs over 58 games for the first-place Giants.
With Posey unavailable, Curt Casali and Chadwick Tromp have been splitting time behind the plate for the Giants. Top prospect Joey Bart also joined the team in a taxi-squad capacity on Friday and could be an option to be activated this weekend, according to Kapler.
To replace Posey on the 26-man roster, the Giants activated right-hander Logan Webb (shoulder strain), who came off the IL and started against the Nationals on Friday.