Giants catcher Buster Posey may be facing season-ending hip surgery, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Hip issues caused Posey to miss the All-Star Game and are likely playing a role in his current slump at the plate.
Posey, who's in his age-31 season, has batted .286/.360/.386 (104 OPS+) in 103 games this season. However, his numbers have trended downward of late, as he's slugged just .315 since the break.
Posey's under contract through the 2021 season, and his deal includes a $22 million option for 2022 with a $3 million buyout. Obviously, Posey and the Giants are hoping that hip surgery will allow him to come back healthy in 2019 and for a while longer stave off decline at the plate. Something else to watch is whether Posey spends more time at first base in 2019 or whether the surgery will allow him more time as a primary catcher.
The Giants have slipped from contention in recent weeks (and may be poised to trade away some veterans during the August waiver period). So the consolation -- such as it is -- is that the loss of their franchise catcher won't materially harm their playoff chances. Speaking of which, coming into Tuesday's slate, the SportsLine Projection Model gives Posey's Giants less than a one percent chance of making the playoffs.
