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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–The next time the Giants have an off day, they’ll fly to San Diego in preparation for their season-opening, four-game series against the Padres.
There’s still plenty to sort out over the next eight days and a number of roster spots that remain up for grabs.
The Giants have unsettled competitions in the outfield and the bullpen as well as a desire to add an additional bat to the roster at the end of spring training. With so much uncertainty surrounding the club, fans are curious about the direction of the franchise and the decisions new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi must make.
What should fans expect in the coming days? We fielded a variety of questions on Twitter to provide more insight.
Question: What’s your predicted rotation order? (From @eldrumguy)
Beat reporter Kerry Crowley: The Giants named Madison Bumgarner their Opening Day starter before spring training began, but manager Bruce Bochy has yet to reveal who will follow Bumgarner on day two of the season.
If the Giants elect to keep the rotation as it currently stands, Derek Holland would secure the No. 2 spot with right-handers Dereck Rodríguez and Jeff Samardzija pitching out of the third and fourth slots in the rotation. That would leave free agent signee Drew Pomeranz as the fifth starter, but it would also set the Giants up to have three left-handers pitch consecutively.
Having all the southpaws in line may not bother Zaidi, but it probably makes more sense to slip Pomeranz in between Rodríguez and Samardzija or move Rodríguez ahead of Holland. Expect an announcement from Bochy on the rotation by the weekend as the Giants have to make a decision soon.
Question: Is Buster (Posey) swinging with his entire body this year or is it still mostly handsy? (From @11012010Finally)
Crowley: We still haven’t seen Buster Posey drive the ball the way he was capable of before he suffered a severe hip injury, but his swings have looked much better over the last week.
Posey is firing his hips and doesn’t appear limited at the plate like he did for much of last summer. He has just five hits in 23 at-bats yet he’s made several hard outs that suggest his batting average would improve with a larger sample size.
The most pressing questions are whether or not Posey can swing like he desires over the course of a full season and how his body will handle an upcoming increase in repetitions. The Giants are hopeful Posey’s effectiveness won’t depend on how frequently he needs to rest, but it’s still too soon to know what type of power numbers they can expect from him as he returns from major surgery.
Even if Posey proves he’s not hindered by his hip, his workload behind the plate should be lighter this year as it’s unlikely he’ll catch more than 100 games. Look for more days at first base and more at-bats as a DH when the Giants play in American League parks.
Question: Do you think (Steven) Duggar can leadoff full time from the get-go? (From @obcgiantscompul)
Crowley: In short, absolutely.
The Giants are shy on outfield talent, but Duggar appears poised for a breakout season. Bochy loves his speed and plate discipline at the top of the order and the Giants are pleased with the way Duggar has further refined his swing this spring.
Staying healthy and proving his surgically-repaired shoulder is able to handle an everyday role will be critical for Duggar early in the season, but he has exceeded the club’s expectations this spring and likely won’t need a platoon partner.
San Francisco hasn’t had many “classic” leadoff hitters in recent years, but Duggar fits the profile and is among the smartest situational players on the team. If all goes according to plan for the Giants and their center fielder, Duggar should be one of the club’s most exciting players to watch this year.
Question: Who is the odd man out if (Yangervis) Solarte makes the team? Is it Pablo (Sandoval), or (Alen) Hanson? (From @2outhits)
Crowley: To start, Yangervis Solarte has essentially locked up a roster spot with a strong spring and a versatile skill set that should make him the team’s top bench asset this season.
Solarte’s presence has complicated the competition for bench roles, particularly for Alen Hanson who leads the Giants with 15 strikeouts this spring. The Giants could actually keep Solarte, Hanson and Pablo Sandoval on the 25-man roster, but they would likely need to open the year with 12 pitchers and just four outfielders to do so.
After a slow start to the spring, Sandoval has looked more comfortable at the plate recently and has had an outstanding camp from a defensive standpoint. Sandoval is primarily a corner infielder, but he can move to second if needed and has even taken fly balls in left field to prepare for an emergency scenario.
The guess here is that the Giants keep all three of their utility infielders, but Hanson is still very much in jeopardy of losing his roster spot.
Question: Are (Will) Smith or (Tony) Watson being talked about recently as trade bait? Is there consensus for Shaun Anderson if he’s a starter or reliever? I think (Brian) Sabean said there was some debate on that last year. (From @CocosCardBreak)
Crowley: In the middle of the offseason, the Giants were fielding calls on all of their relievers, but it appears Zaidi is less likely to trade Smith and or Watson than some of his early public comments may suggest.
In the middle of the spring, Zaidi said he believes the Giants need to field one of the best bullpens in the league to have a chance of competing in the National League West and there’s no way for San Francisco to do that without both Smith and Watson pitching effectively.
If Mark Melancon had turned in an impressive spring, Zaidi may have been more willing to part with one of his coveted left-handers, but Melancon has only complicated matters with his March struggles.
As for Shaun Anderson, the Giants will send him to Triple-A Sacramento so he can open the year as a starter, but his best path to the major leagues –particularly this season– may be in a long relief role. Despite having experience pitching out of the bullpen in college, Anderson has the four-pitch repertoire of a starter and still desires the chance to eventually prove himself in a rotation.
Question: From all you have seen so far in spring training, what aspect of which player have you been impressed by the most and why? (From @Jeff_Henig)
Crowley: It’s hard to choose just one aspect of one player here, so I’ll throw out a handful that have struck me as impressive this spring.
Let’s start with Joe Panik’s consistency, which is a welcome sight for the Giants this spring. Panik is in tremendous shape and looks a step quicker after dealing with nagging injuries last offseason. He also has the smooth swing going that allowed him to hit .309 over his first two major league seasons, which could be a massive plus for a Giants team that needs all the help it can get at the plate.
Tyler Beede’s confidence is another obvious plus for the Giants. Beede finally looks like he’s ready to pitch at the major league level and even if he opens the year at Triple-A, a right-hander who commands a 97-mile per hour fastball and couples it with a hammer of a breaking ball won’t be off the roster for long.
Evan Longoria’s health, Travis Bergen’s poise, Steven Duggar’s competitive drive, Jeff Samardzija’s effectiveness and Madison Bumgarner’s command have also stood out lately.
Question: My question is, with 17 games in 18 days, Giants will probably carry 13 pitchers to start season. Does it look to be (Chris) Stratton and (Trevor) Gott joining the bullpen? (Travis) Bergen will make it. (From @giants28mvp)
Crowley: Any question about roster construction is difficult to answer because quite honestly, I don’t think the Giants have made a determination on whether they’ll open the year with 12 or 13 pitchers.
I asked Zaidi this exact question last week and he admitted he favors having a 25-man roster with 13 pitchers, but he also indicated the Giants would be comfortable beginning the year with 12 pitchers so they could save a roster spot to evaluate an additional position player.
It’s a toss-up as to how many pitchers they’ll carry on Opening Day, but Bergen and right-hander Trevor Gott have done everything in their power to earn roster spots. The Giants should also give veteran righty Nick Vincent serious consideration for a bullpen job, which means Chris Stratton and Ty Blach are in danger of losing spots.
Stratton is out of options, but he could also be included in a late-spring trade if the Giants are serious about acquiring a corner outfielder who may not fit elsewhere. Gott is another player who could be swapped for an outfielder if needed, but Stratton might fetch the Giants a hitter with more upside because he’s a starter who has shown enough to merit consideration for a spot in another team’s rotation.
Regardless of how this plays out, the Giants’ roster decisions are bound to include a few surprises.
