San Francisco Giants second baseman Joe Panik hasn’t looked like himself of late—five hits in his last six games—and the reason behind his struggles might have been revealed Monday.

Continue for updates.


Panik Heads to 15-Day DL

Monday, Aug. 3

The Giants announced that Panik is suffering from lower back inflammation and will head to the 15-day disabled list.

The 24-year-old was hitting .316 as recently as July 22, but his average has slipped to .309 following Saturday’s 9-7 win over the Texas Rangers. His on-base percentage has also dropped slightly from .383 to .374 during that span.

A back injury could certainly help explain in part why Panik is struggling a bit at the plate.

As part of the announcement about Panik‘s DL stint, San Francisco revealed Kelby Tomlinson will be called up from Triple-A to fill out the roster.

Until Panik is healthy enough to play again, the Giants will likely use some combination of Tomlinson and Ehire Adrianza at second base.

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