After four months, an unprecedented hiatus, a labor war and a "summer camp," the Giants on Thursday finally released an Opening Day roster. There were some slight surprises, but not huge ones.
There also is just one player -- Brandon Crawford -- who was in the Opening Day lineup last year. Eight of the 30 players weren't in the organization at the end of last season, and some familiar names like Andrew Suarez, Dereck Rodriguez and Billy Hamilton were left out.
There's a reason for everything, and Farhan Zaidi tried to give some answers an hour after the roster came was released.
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Where's Yolmer Sanchez?
Once considered a lock for the Opening Day roster, the 2019 Gold Glove winner came out of Tuesday night's game with back tightness. He's day-to-day and likely will begin the season working out with the remainder of the player pool at the alternate site in Sacramento.
"He did not make the trip to L.A. Our plan is going to be to kind of get him back to 100 percent given that he's going to be out a few days," Zaidi said. "We would anticipate him being in Sacramento and getting some reps there and showing he can get through back-to-back days and kind of go through -- maybe not necessarily a full rehab schedule -- but demonstrate health before we evaluate him for the active roster."
The Giants can take their time. They have a lot of depth at second, with Mauricio Dubon, Donovan Solano and Wilmer Flores, although Sanchez is the only one who hits left-handed.
San Francisco Giants
Where are Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria?
They'll start the season on the Injured List. Belt has a sore heel and Longoria has a mild oblique strain. Also, if you missed it over the last three weeks, Buster Posey opted out of the season.
So who will start at catcher?
Tyler Heineman will be the first man not named Posey to start behind the dish for the Giants on Opening Day since Bengie Molina in 2010. The switch-hitter made his first Opening Day roster, along with veteran left-handed hitter Rob Brantly. Chadwick Tromp, who hits righty, had a strong summer camp and was in consideration before feeling hamstring tightness Monday.
"He probably had worked his way into a really good position to make the opening day roster so I know that's disappointing for him, but we're hopeful it'll just be a few days," Zaidi said.
Who made the taxi squad?
Left-hander Andrew Suarez and outfielder Steven Duggar are in Los Angeles on the three-man taxi squad. The Giants had planned to carry a catcher -- one of three has to be a catcher -- but that was complicated when Tromp got hurt. Will the Giants add a third player before 7:08 p.m. today?
"We'll just have to wait and see," Zaidi said, smiling.
You can bet he's on the phone right now trying to find a veteran catcher.
Why not Joey Bart?
Zaidi talked about that at length to NBC Sports Bay Area over the weekend. On Thursday, he reiterated that Bart, who had a strong camp, will get needed work in Sacramento. Zaidi said the Giants haven't at all ruled out Bart coming up at some point this season. For now, he'll play in intrasquad games against the others who did not make the 30-man roster.
Zaidi said all of the players who were in camp and did not make the MLB roster will be in Sacramento, with the possible exception of Jose Siri, who was DFA'd to clear a 40-man roster spot.
What other roster moves were made?
Siri and infield Kean Wong were designated for assignment. Posey goes on the restricted list all year so he doesn't count towards the 40-man roster, along with Jarlin Garcia, who is also on the restricted list. Aramis Garcia and Reyes Moronta go on the 45-day Injured List (formerly the 60-day). That cleared spots for all the non-roster invitees who made the team.
[RELATED: How Heineman got ready for camp]
Is anyone else hurt?
Garcia and Billy Hamilton missed most of camp with undisclosed medical issues and Trevor Cahill has a finger injury. Zaidi said none are on the radar for this series. Garcia is a key left-hander in the bullpen and Hamilton is a valuable pinch-runner and defensive replacement. Expect them to be on the team when they're up to speed.
What was the biggest surprise?
Left-handed reliever Caleb Baragar was a late addition to camp but blew the staff away in a couple of appearances and ended up making the team. Now he could be facing Cody Bellinger in the late innings tonight.
"It's obviously a great story for him to come into camp as a replacement player and make it actually a pretty easy decision to put him on our team," Zaidi said. "He's a guy who improved over the course of last season."
Baragar, 26, had a good year as a starter in Double-A and opened eyes when he joined Sacramento for a run to the Triple-A title. Zaidi said it was tough to keep him off the 40-man roster and the Giants were happy that nobody snatched him in the Rule 5 Draft.
"He was showing better velocity (in recent months) and some pretty interesting fastball characteristics, which we got to see up close once he got into camp," Zaidi said. "It's obviously good velocity from the left side, he's got a good breaking ball, and from what we've seen he'll come in and go right after guys. It's a really good skill set for a left-handed reliever in the big leagues."
What's next?
Baseball! Real baseball! And, finally, the first official game for Kapler.
"It's weird to say because it feels like he's been in this role for like five years now with everything that's happened," Zaidi said. "I know he's looking forward to it. He's really worked pretty tirelessly since getting the job, connecting with people in different parts of the organization, meeting with players, developing relationships with you guys. I'm happy for him that he gets to manage a regular-season baseball game finally."