Giants president says lefty Holland’s injury wasn’t ‘fake’

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said the injury that sent left-hander Derek Holland to the injured list last month was legitimate and praised the veteran’s competitive spirit, a day after Holland said he was sidelined with a “fake injury.”

Zaidi said Sunday that medical records back up the legitimacy of Holland’s injury, described by the team as a bone bruise on his left index finger.

He said there are often differences of opinion between players and management about the severity of injuries.

“The guy gets hit by a truck, he can’t walk out on the field. That’s I guess an unequivocal injury, but there’s a lot of gray area beyond that,” Zaidi said.

Holland blasted the Giants’ front office Saturday night after he learned from manager Bruce Bochy that he was being moved to the bullpen. “To be honest, I have no idea what they’re doing,” Holland said, before adding, “I did a fake injury. I’m not happy about that.”