Star rookie outfielder Jung Hoo Lee had been one of the few bright spots for an injury-plagued San Francisco Giants team this season.
The 25-year-old rookie from Korea signed a six-year, $113 million contract during the offseason. He proceeded to be one of their most-consistent hitters and an elite outfielder through the early part of his rookie campaign.
Lee will now miss the remainder of his rookie season.
Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Friday that he’ll undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder. The injury happened last weekend at home against the Cincinnati Reds.
- Jung Hoo Lee stats (2024): .262 average, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .641 OPS
More bad injury news for the San Francisco Giants
Currently sitting at 20-25 heading into Friday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco has been on the receiving end of bad injury news all season.
Lee joins other regular members of the lineup in that of catcher Patrick Bailey, shortstop Nick Ahmed, left fielder Michael Conforto and designated hitter Jorge Soler in currently being on the injured list. Reserve hitters Austin Slater and Tom Murphy are also injured. This doesn’t even take into account pitcher Blake Snell being shelved.
It was going to be hard for San Francisco to compete with the big boys in the National League West this season in the first place. Given the myriad injuries this team has faced, that now seems unlikely.
Bob Melvin’s squad heads into the weekend 8.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.