ATLANTA -- The Giants placed catcher Hector Sanchez on the 15-day disabled list with a left knee sprain and recalled Eli Whiteside from Triple-A Fresno.
Whiteside is catching a flight from Las Vegas, where the Grizzlies were playing, and was expected to arrive at Atlanta's Turner Field shortly before game time.
Sanchez injured his knee while making a sudden move back to first base on a pickoff throw in the fourth inning Tuesday night. The initial diagnosis was that the sprain was not serious, but Sanchez went for an MRI exam Wednesday morning. Results haven't been made public yet, but obviously the club decided not to risk playing short or subjecting Pablo Sandoval to any extended stint as a backup catcher -- especially since Sandoval hasn't caught an inning since 2009.
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Whiteside was hitting .241 with a home run in 47 games for Fresno. He's familiar to the entire staff, having served as the backup catcher in most of the previous three seasons. Oddly, Whiteside finds himself back in the big leagues one day after Jonathan Sanchez, his batterymate for a no-hitter in 2009, was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals.
We'll have more on Sanchez's condition when information becomes available later this afternoon.