SF Giants: MRI reveals severity of Mitch Haniger’s oblique strain

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Outfielder Mitch Haniger, one of the San Francisco Giants’ marquee free-agent additions, underwent an MRI on Friday night that revealed a Grade 1 strain in his left oblique, manager Gabe Kapler said Saturday morning.

Haniger, 32, will rest for the next 5-7 days, the Giants said, and will be re-evaluated after that for resuming baseball activity. However, Kapler said he didn’t believe the injury would impact Haniger’s status for Opening Day, less than three weeks away.

“I think anything’s possible at this point,” Kapler said. “I don’t have any reason to believe yet that Mitch won’t be ready for the season for us.”

A Grade 1 strain represents the least severe variety, while more serious Grade 2 and 3 strains can sideline players for six weeks or more. Haniger suffered the injury on a non-game swing, according to Kapler.

“Obliques are challenging,” Kapler said. “Sometimes they feel like they’re 100% healed and they’re not always 100% healed.”

Haniger hasn’t played a Cactus League game since March 4. He was penciled in to bat second and play right field on Friday but was scratched a couple hours before first pitch against the Rockies. In four games this spring, Haniger is 3-for-10 (.300) with two doubles.

Haniger, who signed a three-year, $43.5 million free-agent contract, was limited to 57 games in 2022 because of a high-ankle sprain. He missed two months in 2017 with a strained right oblique. In seven big-league seasons, he has played more than 100 games only twice while dealing with a variety of ailments, most of which president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi attributed as “fluky” after signing him.

Nonetheless, the Giants are now down two right-handed-hitting outfielders from their projected Opening Day roster.

Austin Slater (elbow) has yet to appear in a Cactus League game but resumed throwing this week.

“My inclination is that Slates is trending in a direction where he’s going to be ready for us for the season,” Kapler said. “I don’t think anything that’s happened thus far changes our early season game planning.”