Moronta collapses on mound, departs with arm injury

Reyes Moronta relieved Logan Webb with two outs in the sixth inning of Saturday’s contest and after throwing a 97.5-mph 2-0 fastball to the first batter he faced, Luis Urías, Moronta fell to the ground, rolled off the first-base side of the mound and writhed in pain, holding his arm.

Giants trainers quickly jogged out to his aid and he was helped off the field with his elbow cocked awkwardly at his side.

The Giants announced Sunday that reliever Moronta is out for the season with a torn right labrum.

Manager Bruce Bochy said the diagnosis was made after Moronta received an MRI earlier in the day and the team is still deciding on a treatment plan:

“Obviously he’s gonna be out for the year, which is a big blow for us. We’re gonna get some more tests done, get some more opinions and we’ll know which way we’re going to go —surgery is an option when you injure the labrum, so we’ll wait to get those opinions.” 

Moronta has had a sub-three ERA since he debuted with San Francisco in 2017 and has been one of the pillars of the the Giants bullpen since last season. In 2019 he has a 2.86 ERA, a 149 ERA+ and is averaging 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Opposing batters are slashing .197/.314/.298 against him.

The 26-year-old right-hander already fought his way through a 2013 Tommy John surgery and its arduous rehab process, so another major injury for the lights out reliever and possible future closer is a pretty devastating development.

Jeff Samardzija said this is a tough loss to take for the team:

“He’s a big guy for us, kinda like an Andrew Miller-type guy that came in and was a stopper. He can get righties out, lefties out and can pitch all the time. So obviously I wish him the best and hopefully he’ll get healthy and hopefully he can get ready to go for opening day next year. We’ll keep an eye on him. He’s a strong guy and I’m sure he’ll be back.”

Julie Parker is SFBay’s San Francisco Giants beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @InsideThePark3r on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Giants baseball.