MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — While there’s a Fake Jedd Gyorko tweeting, the real one is coping with a strained groin.
The former West Virginia star is enduring his first stint on the disabled list, receiving twice-daily treatment on a groin injury that interrupted a stellar rookie season. After batting .309 with eight home runs since May 1 and raising his season average to .284, Gyorko has been sidelined the past eight days.
Only Monday, while preparing for the Padres’ game in San Francisco, was Gyorko allowed to begin taking batting practice and fielding grounders.
“It’s been pretty frustrating not to be out there with the guys,” Gyorko told the MetroNews “SportsLine” crew on Monday night. “But I’m sitting in the dugout and watching big league baseball, so it could be worse.”
Presuming no setbacks, Gyorko plans to begin a brief rehab assignment later this week at the Padres Single-A affiliate in Lake Elsinore, Calif.
Gyorko has mostly erased a forgettable April in which he hit .247 and drove in only eight runs in his first 25 big-league games. As of Monday, Gyorko ranked fifth in homers among major league second basemen, sixth in average, 10th in RBIs and sixth in OPS. He had hit safely in 13 of 14 games before being injured June 10 against Colorado.
“Hopefully when I come off the DL I can pick up where I left off,” he said.
And hopefully the Fake Jedd Gyorko account that debuted on Twitter June 16 can overcome a slow start of its own. The imposter thus far has done little more than lob a lame insult at Giants fans and chide the Fake Evan Gattis for his rookie-of-the-year hashtag.
“We have some PR people who will keep an eye on it and make sure nothing is getting out of control,” Gyorko said. “People will do anything out there — you’ve just got to watch out for what they’re saying. But I don’t think anyone has enough dirt on me yet to make it too bad.”
Watch Jedd Gyorko’s interview on MetroNews “SportsLine”: