Giants place Casey Schmitt on the IL with a torn meniscus, call up Osleivis Basabe

A very, very bad San Francisco Giants season has gotten quite a bit worse. On Tuesday afternoon, the San Francisco Giants announced that do-everything third baseman Casey Schmitt had been placed on the 10-Day Injured List with a torn meniscus in his left knee. Taking his place on the roster is infielder Osleivis Basabe, who had his contract purchased from AAA Sacramento.

Schmitt, who was in the middle of a breakout campaign (and was a name that came up in some trade chatter), left Monday’s 3-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers after hurting his knee while running to first base. He left the game with a limp, and it seemed all but certain that it was a pretty serious injury.

That said, a torn meniscus is both good news and bad news. On the bad news front, it almost certainly ends Schmitt’s season. The usual timeline for return following a meniscus tear is 6-8 weeks after the surgery date, though the Giants have yet to provide an update on that front. That would give Schmitt a chance of returning this year were the Giants playing meaningful games, but with nothing left to play for, there’s no reason whatsoever for the team to rush him back. On the good news front, it initially looked like Schmitt might have torn his ACL, which would have not only ended his season but likely cost him a good chunk of next season as well.

As for Basabe, he is likely only going to be on the roster for a few days, as Matt Chapman is expected to return sometime this week. He can fill in all over the dirt, as he’s a strong defender at second, third, and shortstop. He’s fairly mild-mannered offensively, and is hitting .268/.344/.388 with Sacramento this year, for a 95 wRC+, though he rarely strikes out. Basabe, who hits right handed, has 94 career plate appearances in the Majors, all in 2023 with the Tampa Bay Rays. The 25-year old is a cousin of two former Giants: Luis Matos and Luis Alexander Basabe. Since Basabe was not on the 40-man roster (the Giants DFA’d and outrighted him last year), he will need to have his contract purchased; but the Giants had two open spots on the 40-man roster, so they won’t need to make any corresponding move.