PHOENIX \u2014 The entirely predictable hypothetical that Tony Vitello dismissed as \u201cmade up\u201d and didn\u2019t want to think about before Monday\u2019s game, of course, came to fruition barely 24 hours later.<\/p>\n
An abdominal strain that had been bothering Matt Chapman for more than a month flared up worse than ever before, forcing the Giants\u2019 third baseman out of Tuesday\u2019s 8\u20132 loss to the Diamondbacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was just the situation the Giants feared without a backup infielder on their roster<\/a>.<\/p>\n An abdominal strain that had been bothering Matt Chapman for more than a month flared up worse than ever before. AP Photo\/Jim Rassol<\/p>\n \u201cWe assured him,\u201d Vitello said, \u201cthere\u2019s a couple different moves we can make, so don\u2019t try to fight through this thing just because of the situation we\u2019re in, where we\u2019re a little shorthanded.\u201d<\/p>\n With Willy Adames (back spasms) already unavailable<\/a>, the Giants ended the game with Luis Arraez at third base for the first time since 2022 and an outfielder \u2014 Jonah Cox \u2014 at second.\u00a0<\/p>\n The wait-and-see situation with Adames has effectively left the Giants a man down since he left Sunday\u2019s game. They have declined to place him on the injured list to bring in a healthy body.<\/p>\n That\u2019s no longer tenable after losing Chapman, too.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than likely one way or another [Christian] Koss is involved,\u201d Vitello said.<\/p>\n The Giants opted not to pull that lever in anticipation despite Koss being on hand Monday and Vitello on Tuesday expressing that Adames would benefit from a few days off, with the hope to keep him off his feet until after Thursday\u2019s off day.<\/p>\n Giants center fielder Jonah Cox slides into third base safely under Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado. Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n When Heliot Ramos was activated Monday<\/a>, the Giants opted to open a roster spot by trading Buddy Kennedy to the Mariners for cash, leaving them with six outfielders and no backup infielders.<\/p>\n Posed a question about the team\u2019s plans should another infielder, such as Chapman, were to go down, Vitello said, \u201cit\u2019ll be a little bit of what\u2019s going on in the game as far as how we want to manage your made-up scenario, which we won\u2019t worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n A day later, it was something to worry about.<\/p>\n Chapman will undergo an MRI on Wednesday but seems to be a strong candidate for the injured list. He is expected to miss three days soon anyway for the birth of his son, who is due this weekend.<\/p>\n Like Adames and his back spasms, Chapman said he\u2019d been playing through abdominal problems for some time. In his case, it\u2019s been \u201chot and cold\u201d since the start of May.<\/p>\n Giants Willy Adames gets the out at second base of Henry Bolte of the Athletics. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been to where it\u2019s been affecting me \u2014 I would say something \u2014 but it\u2019s been something we\u2019ve been treating to try to keep me on the field,\u201d Chapman said. \u201cThere\u2019s been good days and bad days. These last couple weeks, probably, it\u2019s been really tight.<\/p>\n \u201cFor whatever reason, today when I ran to first in my first at-bat, I started to feel it get really pissed off and bother me. Then it went away. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I made that barehanded play, that was the first time that it made me cringe and go down a little bit to where I was actually in a lot of pain.\u201d<\/p>\n Chapman winced and grabbed at his midsection after retiring Gabriel Moreno<\/a> for the final out of the sixth inning, barehanding a soft groundball and firing to Rafael Devers at first.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Cox was on high alert in the batting cages behind the visitors\u2019 dugout.<\/p>\n Chapman initially remained in the game and took his next at-bat in the top of the seventh, but he was clearly in pain. When the bottom of the inning began, Cox was at second base.<\/p>\n Chapman said he\u2019d been playing through abdominal problems for some time. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cHe took a swing and kind of pulled up,\u201d Cox said. \u201cI was like, \u2018Ohhh, here we go.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Cox, who hadn\u2019t played the infield since college, was the designated backup in a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency scenario. He had been working with Ron Washington just in case, which appeared to pay off almost instantly when Cox had to dive to his left to make a play.<\/p>\n He looked like a natural.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of blacked out a little bit,\u201d Cox said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things where I\u2019m happy it wasn\u2019t a routine play because there wasn\u2019t much time to think on that one.\u201d<\/p>\n Chapman, the five-time Gold Glove winner, was impressed by what he saw on the clubhouse TV.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u201cHe looked good over there,\u201d Chapman said. \u201cI was inside and saw the diving play. It\u2019s like riding a bike for him.\u201d<\/p>\n The good news, if you can call it that, is that it didn\u2019t impact the outcome of a game the Giants already trailed 8-2. And Cox, whose speed and outfield defense have made him a useful bench piece, may have a reason to expand his portfolio.<\/p>\n He\u2019s carried an infielder\u2019s glove with him dating back to the minor leagues.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of become a running joke the last few years in the minors because I always carried it with me,\u201d Cox said. \u201cI grew up watching Chris Taylor and guys like that, who can play literally all eight positions, so that\u2019s kind of something I\u2019ve aspired to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Believe it or not, the circumstances that led to him putting that infielder\u2019s glove to use weren\u2019t even the most outlandish of Cox\u2019s career to lead to him making a cameo on the infield dirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n He logged four innings at second base once with Single-A San Jose.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was even more of a story,\u201d Cox said. \u201cWe had a guy get hit in the head, a guy get a hamstring and a guy tear an oblique or something like that. A little less steps today.\u201d<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t
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