LOS ANGELES _ Days after losing third baseman Evan Longoria to a fractured pinky, the Giants are preparing to play without another infielder.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford will miss a handful of games this week, but his upcoming absence is an occasion worth celebrating.
Crawford and his wife Jalynne will welcome their fourth child to the family this week, so the Giants will place the three-time Gold Glover on the paternity list Monday.
Manager Bruce Bochy said the club has not finalized plans to add Crawford's temporary replacement, but infielder Kelby Tomlinson will likely be promoted from Triple-A Sacramento.
Crawford will likely miss around three-to-four days and the Giants will likely divide playing time between Tomlinson and utility infielder Alen Hanson depending on matchups.
The Giants can expect their shortstop to return to action sometime during a four-game set with the San Diego Padres next weekend, but their starting third baseman will be out much longer.
Longoria met with Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles on Saturday and Shin will perform surgery on Longoria's fractured fifth metacarpal on Tuesday.
"The reason why we're opting for the surgery is kind of just to pin that bone together and hopefully we'll start working toward getting the strength back and recovering as soon as possible," Longoria said.
The 32-year-old infielder said his recovery process is expected to take between six-to-eight weeks, but Longoria is hopeful he'll rejoin the Giants shortly after the All-Star break in July.
His streak of playing in at least 156 games per year will come to an end after five seasons, but Longoria said he's determined to hasten his rehab process and return to his starting role as soon as he's healed.
"It sucks, yesterday I was going crazy," Longoria said. "Sitting around watching the game, I don't really know what to do yet. I think I'm going to try to keep doing as much as I can."
Hanson and Pablo Sandoval will fill in during Longoria's absence, with Sandoval slated to start against most right-handed pitchers while Hanson is expected to play against lefties.
Sandoval has served in a super utility role throughout the 2018 season, playing nearly every spot in the infield and even appearing as a relief pitcher during a blowout loss earlier in the year. With two hits including a two-run home run in Friday's loss to the Dodgers, Sandoval improved his batting average to .281.
"It is comforting knowing that we have guys that are stepping up and Pablo has been a big, big boost for us this year," Longoria said.
