Josh Rutledge hoping to put injuries behind him with Giants
After two seasons that ended in surgery, former Alabama standout Josh Rutledge changed leagues during the offseason and is seeking to earn a spot as a utility infielder with the San Francisco Giants during spring training.
In his first three seasons in the big leagues, Rutledge played in 266 games with the Colorado Rockies from 2012 through 2014. But in the three seasons since, he played in 104 games with the Boston Red Sox.
In 2016, knee patellar tendinitis ended Rutledge’s season after 28 games. He had left knee patella tendon debridement and repair in August 2016. August brought surgery again last year — this time on Rutledge’s left hip after he’d played in 37 games.
So far, Rutledge has played in two Cactus League games, with one hit in four at-bats, with the Giants.
“I’m just taking it day-byday and seeing how everything’s feeling,” Rutledge told mlb.com. “Staying healthy is the main thing for me. Just build up, and whatever happens happens.”
During his MLB career, Rutledge has played 141 games at shortstop, 133 at second base and 47 at third base (as well as five at first base and four at designated hitter).
The Giants’ lineup is set at Rutledge’s three primary positions, with Joe Panik at second, Brandon Crawford at short and Evan Longoria at third.
Kelby Tomlinson hit .258 in 104 games in a utility role for San Francisco last season. The Giants also have a couple of veterans trying to catch on as extra infielders — Andres Blanco, who’s played in 10 MLB seasons, and Chase D’Arnaud, who’s appeared in six.
If Rutledge breaks camp with the Giants, he figures to have more opportunities to play in the National League, with its more prevalent pinch-hitting and doubleswitches, than he had in the
American League with the Red Sox.
“The (American League) is fun, but especially with the positions that I’ve been able to play the last few years, I think the National League is a better fit,” Rutledge said. “I had some good times. I really enjoyed that organization, but I’ve also played against (the Giants) for a long time and seen what they can do. We were in talks with them even last year. Once they came back this year and said they were still interested in me, I
thought that said a lot about the want for me to be here. To me, it was kind of a no-brainer.”
During his 370-game MLB career, Rutledge has batted .258 with 156 runs, 51 doubles, 14 triples, 20 home runs, 111 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, .310 on-base average and .384 slugging percentage.
As Alabama’s shortstop, Rutledge was a freshman All-American in 2008 and an AllSEC selection in 2009 and 2010. Before playing for the Crimson Tide, Rutledge earned All-State honors as a junior and a senior and was the state’s Class 5A Player of the Year in 2007 at Cullman High School.