SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- San Francisco Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro says he will begin the season on the disabled list.
Scutaro has been sidelined for most of the spring with back problems, with just two at-bats and one hit.
Scutaro, 38, will remain in Scottsdale for further treatment and a timetable for his return is uncertain, manager Bruce Bochy said.
Scutaro was plagued by back stiffness for most of the 2013 season. He had a couple of epidural injections earlier this spring, as well as a diagnostic nerve block injection, all of which had limited effectiveness. He recently received a cortisone injection.
Scutaro's situation likely will leave Joaquin Arias as the starting second baseman. Arias started at third base Wednesday, with Pablo Sandoval nursing a small cut on his hand.
Left-handed relief specialist Jeremy Affeldt also will begin the season on the disabled list.
Affeldt will be out a minimum of 10 days to two weeks, Bochy said, after straining the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during a game Saturday.
Affeldt had other medical issues over the winter and was trying to work his way back to form. Bochy did not seem too pleased when describing the latest setback, saying, "He wasn't wearing his brace."
Catcher Buster Posey was a pregame scratch for Wednesday's 8-6 win over the Colorado Rockies with minor hamstring tightness. Posey told Bochy he could play, but Bochy said no, considering the team was traveling back to the Bay Area on Wednesday night to prepare for its three-game Bay Bridge exhibition series against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.