The San Francisco Giants may be in first place in the National League West, but the team is going to be without star outfielder Hunter Pence for the next two months.
According to a report from Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco is leaning towards having Pence undergo surgery on a torn hamstring.
#sfgiants leaning toward surgery for Pence. Out 8 weeks.
— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) June 3, 2016
Pence, 33, was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday after injuring his hamstring on Wednesday. At that time, Giants manager Bruce Bochy didn’t seem too optimistic regarding a quick return for the veteran outfielder.
Pence is hitting .298 with seven homers and 36 RBI on the season. This had him on pace to put up his best season since he split time between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies back in 2011.
At this point, the Giants are likely to look for internal options to replace Pence in the outfield. The team called up prospect Mac Williamson this week and has fellow youngster Jarrett Parker already on the roster.
Once Angel Pagan returns from his current stint on the DL, the loss of Pence will mitigated to an extent.
San Francisco enters this weekend’s action with a 34-22 record and 5.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. Despite this seemingly big cushion, losing Pence for two months is going to hurt.