MILWAUKEE (AP) -Rich Aurilia’s sore neck finally forced him to the disabled list, and the San Francisco Giants hope all he needs is a little more rest.
Aurilia has received multiple injections in the past few weeks to help alleviate the pain that’s bothered him since last month, and the Giants put the infielder on the 15-day disabled list before they played the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.
The move was retroactive to Sunday.
“He needed some time to get this neck issue to clear up so we went ahead and put him on the disabled list for at least 15 days to see if we could get this right,” manager Bruce Bochy said.
San Francisco called up Luis Figueroa from Triple-A Fresno. Figueroa has appeared in 12 major league games, with the Blue Jays last season and the Pirates in 2001.
Bochy said Figueroa will take on a utility role with the Giants.
“He played everywhere, all over the field in Fresno, including the outfield,” Bochy said. “He gives us some infield depth and was doing a good job.”
The Giants also moved catcher Eliezer Alfonzo to the 60-day disabled list. He was placed on the DL on June 9 with a right knee sprain after he was hurt in a collision with Oakland’s Donnie Murphy at home plate in the 10th inning the day before.
Alfonzo will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday in an effort to help speed his recovery, which is expected to take six to eight weeks. Head trainer Dave Groeschner said Alfonzo wanted to have the operation and he believed it would be for the best.
“We just don’t want to get down the road four to six weeks when he starts doing some functional activity, where he’s actually running and catching and have an issue with a cartilage tear set us back,” Groeschner said.
Aurilia last played Saturday in Boston and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. He had missed the previous four games due to the neck ailment.
Aurilia also missed four starts last month because of a stiff neck that required shots. Most recently, he said he received “epidural-type injections” between three vertebrae.
“After he got the second injections, he felt better with a few days’ rest. Maybe we just didn’t give him a long enough rest,” Groeschner said.
The 35-year-old Aurilia is batting .236 with two home runs and 19 RBIs in his second stint with San Francisco, but hasn’t homered since connecting May 20 off Joe Kennedy of the Athletics.
Aurilia signed an $8 million, two-year deal in December to return to the Giants as the team’s primary first baseman, though he has been sharing duties with Ryan Klesko and has been filling in all over the infield.
Aurilia helped San Francisco reach the World Series in 2002. Despite struggling with injuries, he had six home runs and 17 RBIs during that postseason.
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