© Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
It took some getting used to not seeing Matt Cain suited up around Scottsdale Stadium for the first time in 12 years, but the San Francisco Giants weren’t expecting to be without another mainstay player for much of this year’s spring training. After appearing in two innings against the Chicago Cubs on February 25, Buster Posey didn’t take the field again until March 9 with discomfort in his right ankle.
Although the Giants aren’t concerned about Posey’s injury, describing it as nothing more than a “tweak“, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle told Murph & Mac Monday morning that it’ll be a story to follow as the regular season unfolds.
“The one question I asked them is is this going to be something that’s going to linger because it still might go back to the time he got trucked by Scott Cousins seven years ago,” Schulman said. “That’s going to be a season-long story with him, but as of now I haven’t seen any hints that he’s in trouble for starting the season as the opening day catcher.”
Every Giants fan remembers all too well the collision at home plate that threw Posey’s promising career, having won the Rookie of the Year award the season before, into serious question. Nonetheless, Posey has since bounced back to five All-Star appearances, a .311 batting average, 106 home runs, two World Series championships and the 2012 MVP award.
However, following his second start of the spring, Posey confessed he felt some discomfort in his ankle last season, telling NBC Sports that, “in 2012, after my injury, my ankle was cranky a lot. Sometimes you just play. Most of us are not playing at 100 percent.” An MRI on his ankle showed positive results, but Posey said he used a cortisone shot to alleviate the pain.
Posey’s discomfort wasn’t enough to keep him from going 3-for-3 against the Seattle Mariners with a pair of doubles. On the spring, he’s batting .571 with three doubles, three runs, and two RBI.
For now, it appears as if Posey’s ankle is just an innocent scare from spring training, joining Brandon Crawford’s jammed finger and Evan Longoria’s “flared up” ankle. However, it’s yet to be seen if it will continue to hinder Posey during the regular season.
“Because it’s Buster, it’s almost like the president of the United States,” Schulman said. “Anything that happens, you’ve got to pay close attention to, but Buster is on the normal schedule right now, which is you play every other day as a catcher.
“He’s looked good in the two games since he’s come back from this thing,” Schulman added. “He’s looked fine. They don’t think it’s anything serious.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and skip to 9:03 for Schulman on Posey.