Villar (hip) is in line to return to Cactus League play Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Villar will have missed about a week of action with a left hip flexor strain. He's struggled so far this spring, going 1-for-14 with eight strikeouts and no walks, but he'll have time to sharpen up ahead of Opening Day. Villar is in line to be the Giants' primary third baseman.
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Giants' David Villar: Thinks he'll be back soon
Rotowire
Villar (hip) said Wednesday that he believes he'll return to Cactus League games in a few days, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
He suffered a left hip flexor strain over the weekend, but it's been deemed mild and it sounds like he should be ready to play before the end of the week. Villar is expected to log the bulk of the at-bats at third base for the Giants this season.
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Giants' David Villar: Dealing with hip flexor strain
Rotowire
Villar was diagnosed Monday with a mild left hip flexor strain, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Villar had to be scratched from the Giants' lineup over the weekend with the injury and an MRI has provided a more specific diagnosis. He will be re-evaluated daily and, thus, can be considered day-to-day.
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Giants' David Villar: Scratched with hip tightness
Rotowire
Villar was scratched from the lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers due to left hip tightness, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
After hitting a promising .231/.331/.455 (albeit with a 32.0 percent strikeout rate) in 52 games as a rookie last season, Villar entered spring training with a good shot to carve out a regular role at third base. If his injury remains nothing worse than tightness and he's able to return to the field soon, he'll still be in the favorite to start at the hot corner, but if he's forced to hit the injured list, Wilmer Flores and J.D. Davis could earn a larger share of at-bats.
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Giants' David Villar: Inside track for starting job
Rotowire
Villar is viewed as the Giants' starting third baseman heading into spring training, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Villar slashed .231/.331/.455 with nine home runs and 24 RBI in 52 games as a 25-year-old last season. He won't go unchallenged for the job at third base -- Wilmer Flores and J.D. Davis are also in the mix, but their versatility around the diamond may make them better suited for utility roles. Villar is also expected to see time at second base when Thairo Estrada covers for Brandon Crawford at shortstop.
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Giants' David Villar: Finishes season with bang
Rotowire
Villar went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in an 8-1 win over San Diego on Wednesday.
Villar slammed a two-run shot off Craig Stammen in the fourth inning and a solo blast off Pierce Johnson in the eighth. He enjoyed his second multi-homer game as a major-leaguer, with his other coming Sept. 7 against the Dodgers. Villar's .231/.331/.455 slash line as a rookie isn't eye-opening, but he flashed good power with nine home runs and 24 RBI over 52 games. He also slugged 27 homers at the Triple-A level and appears to have cemented his place as a key part of the team's future.
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Giants' David Villar: Not in Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Villar is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Villar has a .559 OPS and 37.5 percent strikeout rate in his past 10 contests and will take a seat Sunday. Evan Longoria will start at the hot corner in the series finale versus Arizona.
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Giants' David Villar: Sitting again
Rotowire
Villar is not in Friday's lineup against the Diamondbacks, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.
Villar has now sat three of the last four games after starting several in a row. Evan Longoria is starting at third base and hitting fifth.
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Giants' David Villar: Heads to bench
Rotowire
Villar will sit Thursday against Colorado, Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
Villar finds himself on the bench for the second time in three games. The 25-year-old has hit a passable .211/.315/.415 with seven homer in 47 games in his first taste of MLB action. Jason Vosler will be the third baseman Thursday, with J.D. Davis serving as the designated hitter.
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Giants' David Villar: Riding pine Tuesday
Rotowire
Villar is not in the lineup Tuesday against Colorado, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Villar will get a day off Tuesday after playing in 12 consecutive games, batting .167 in the process. Jason Vosler will pick up a start at third base, batting eighth.
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Giants' David Villar: Pops two-run blast
Rotowire
Villar went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks.
Villar homered for the second time in four games, and all but one of his seven long balls this year have come in September. For the season, the infielder is slashing .215/.322/.438 with 19 RBI, 18 runs scored, six doubles and a triple across 152 major-league plate appearances.
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Giants' David Villar: Clubs sixth homer
Rotowire
Villar went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Rockies.
Villar's seventh-inning homer ended up giving the Giants all they needed to get the win. He hasn't hit consistently lately, going 8-for-33 (.242) across his last 10 games, but he's swatted two homers and four doubles in that span. The 25-year-old has shown solid power with a .444 slugging percentage through 139 plate appearances, but he's batting just .222 with six homers, 16 RBI, 17 runs scored and six doubles. Villar has been in the lineup for six straight games, seeing time at the corner infield spots as well as designated hitter, and it appears he's earned an everyday role.
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Giants' David Villar: Sleeper hitters for Week 25 (Sept. 19-25)
Rotowire
Some tough matchups have cooled off Villar in recent days and possibly put his starting job in jeopardy, but if he keeps getting at-bats, he's in a good spot to bounce back this week with an especially favorable hitter slate that includes four games at Colorado. Let's not forget he has 32 homers between the majors and minors this year.
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Giants' David Villar: Out of lineup Tuesday
Rotowire
Villar is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Atlanta.
Villar has slashed .303/.343/.727 since rejoining the big-league club at the start of September. He will get a second consecutive day off Tuesday as LaMonte Wade fills in at first base, allowing Luis Gonzalez to pick up a start in right field and bat eighth.
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Giants' David Villar: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
In the previous edition of Waiver Wire, I noted that Giants manager Gabe Kapler had resolved to play Villar as much as possible down the stretch, and he's followed through on it so far, starting him in 10 straight games. What I failed to mention is that Villar was on the verge of picking up second base eligibility, which he now has in addition to third base (and first base, not that you'd be as likely to use him there). That sort of versatility makes him especially useful in formats where the hitter pool is stretched thin, such as standard Rotisserie, but of course, it's the production that makes him most worthwhile. His latest home run Saturday gives him four since returning Sept. 2 to go along with the 27 he hit in the minors.
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Giants' David Villar: Keeps power up Saturday
Rotowire
Villar went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, two total RBI and two total runs scored in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Cubs.
Villar has gone deep four times in his last seven games, and he's recorded four multi-hit efforts in that span. The hot hitting has earned him a steady stretch of playing time as a versatile infielder capable of manning any base. He's still slashing just .228/.351/.457 through 111 plate appearances, but he's trending in the right direction. The 25-year-old has added five homers, 14 RBI, 14 runs scored and four doubles through 33 contests.
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Giants' David Villar: Goes deep twice in loss
Rotowire
Villar went 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers.
Villar smacked a two-run homer off Clayton Kershaw to open the scoring in the fifth and later added a solo home run in the seventh off lefty reliever Justin Bruihl. The third baseman recently endured a rough seventeen-game stretch during which he slashed .075/.269/.100, but he's bounced back with three home runs in his last three games. The 25-year-old crushes lefties with a 1.187 OPS in 49 plate appearances compared to a .311 OPS in 47 plate appearances facing righties.
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Giants' David Villar: Goes yard in win
Rotowire
Villar went 2-for-2 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Monday's 7-4 win over the Dodgers.
Villar drew the start at first base in this contest, his third start in the last four games since he was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. He had gone 0-for-7 since the call-up before delivering a third-inning single and a two-run blast in the fourth. The 25-year-old infielder's had some trouble translating his success from the minors to the majors, as he's slashing just .181/.326/.319 with two homers, nine RBI, 10 runs scored, two doubles and a triple through 89 big-league plate appearances.
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Giants' David Villar: Rejoins big club
Rotowire
Villar was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday.
Villar was sent down by the Giants in early August but will return to the majors Thursday with rosters expanding to 28 players. The 25-year-old has played in 23 big-league games this season and has a .175/.338/.286 slash line with one home run, seven RBI and eight runs scored.
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Giants' David Villar: Optioned down
Rotowire
Villar was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Villar and Dixon Machado were the roster casualties for Brandon Crawford (knee) and Joc Pederson (concussion), though unlike Machado, Villar maintains his 40-man spot. An 11th-round pick in 2018, Villar struggled to a .175/.338/.286 slash line in his first taste of the majors, but the 25-year-old posted an OPS north of 1.000 in 66 games with Sacramento to begin the year (1.042).
