Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants are seeking multiple doctors to check out Brandon Belt’s knee, with the next step unclear.
When they visit Los Angeles to play at Dodger Stadium beginning Monday, Belt will take a visit with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and then there will be an appointment with Dr. Timothy McAdams at Stanford, Gabe Kapler said Saturday. The Giants have said surgery is a possibility, and both perform knee/arthroscopic surgeries.
So there is nothing tangible regarding the Giants first baseman, who struggled his way into third base in Anaheim then hobbled home before going down behind the plate before he could reach the dugout.
It did not look good immediately, and the severe concern remains for what the Giants have termed knee inflammation. The Giants placed him on the 10-day injured list but signaled it would be lengthier than the minimum, and the question will be whether they are waiting weeks or months for their valuable, middle-of-the-order bat.
Belt had surgery on the right knee in September 2018, when he had a torn meniscus and cartilage damage. He has said it did not feel fully healthy again until last year, which was the best of his career, finishing with a 1.015 OPS in 51 games.
This season, his OPS is .875 through 55 games, and his glove might be more missed than his bat. Darin Ruf will see plenty of time at first without him, and the comparison defensively isn’t close. LaMonte Wade Jr. was recalled and starting at first for Saturday’s second game of the Bay Bridge series at Oracle Park.
There was even some discouraging news in the wings, as rehabbing Tommy La Stella has a small thumb fracture that will require a splint for a week. Wade and Ruf will see a lot of time at first base.