PHOENIX -- The Giants have been a mess defensively in recent weeks, but at least they always know what they're going to get from Curt Casali, who prepares as well as anyone and has done a nice job behind the plate in his season and a half in Orange and Black. They now might be without him for a while.
Casali strained his right oblique late in Monday's 8-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks and will get an MRI on Tuesday. Oblique strains generally are measured in weeks, not days, and Joey Bart was scratched from Triple-A Sacramento's lineup and is an option to return to the big league roster on Tuesday, manager Gabe Kapler said.
"Joey is a possibility," Kapler said. "We'll talk about it. I just had a minute with [bullpen coach Craig Albernaz] and obviously I'll discuss it with the front office and make a good decision for the Giants."
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SIGN UP HERE The injury came on the 11th pitch of an at-bat against righty Sean Poppen in the sixth inning. Casali fouled off five straight pitches before checking his swing on a slider. He immediately gave a little hop and grabbed at his right side, and Kapler and trainer Anthony Reyes came out to check on him.
The Giants gave Bart a few days to catch a mental breather after he was optioned last month and then kept him in San Francisco to make swing changes. He went two weeks without playing in a game and the plan was to give him a long stretch in Sacramento to work on adjustments, but the Giants don't really have many choices right now.
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Bart has played just seven games since returning and is 8-for-28 with a homer. He has only six strikeouts after whiffing nearly half of the time when he was up in the big leagues.