San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria will be sidelined for an estimated four to six weeks after suffering a sprained left shoulder in a collision with shortstop Brandon Crawford on Saturday.
Longoria was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday after being hurt in the collision, which happened in the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night when he and Crawford were both going for Anthony Rizzo's grounder.
Crawford got up quickly, but Longoria -- who was charged with an error on the play -- remained down for several moments as a team trainer came out. Longoria then exited the game.
"It's going to be a major challenge to fill [Longoria's] shoes," Kapler told reporters Sunday after announcing the timeline for Longoria' return, according to the Bay Area News Group. "I'm not sure we're going to have anybody be able to step right in and do what he was doing. At the same time, we have to turn the page and get ready to compete, and that's what we're going to do."
Crawford was fine after the collision but was not in Sunday's starting lineup.
Kapler said Wilmer Flores and Jason Vosler will be among the players who will be counted on to play third base in Longoria's absence.
The Giants recalled infielder Thairo Estrada from Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move.
Longoria leads the first-place Giants with a .280 batting average and 45 hits this season. He is second on the team with 30 RBIs and also has nine home runs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.