On the latest Giants Talk podcast, Alex Pavlovic and Cole Kuiper were baffled why so many Giants fans hate the Joc Pederson signing even though his cocky confidence is just what the Giants need.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Gabe Kapler was still somewhat disappointed the morning after the Cactus League opener, but not because his Giants had waited until the eighth inning to pick up their first hit.
Kapler didn't love the pace that his pitchers worked at or the general way the Giants went through a game that lasted three hours, 25 minutes. "It was sloppy," he said.
That's the type of thing that will bother coaches this time of year, not whatever it says in the box score. The little secret of the spring is that the individual results of the exhibition games pretty much don't matter at all, and that might be more true this year for the Giants than in any recent season.
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SIGN UP HERE As the Giants reported for camp, their opening day roster was just about set in stone. There will be some competition, but nothing major.
"I think there's potential for that," Kapler said, nodding his head. "I still think competition is really healthy and it's good for everybody to challenge themselves and continue to raise the bar for themselves. While it might feel more set in stone than it has in the past, I think there are ways that we can improve the processes for players and challenge them."
There's a lot of work to be done behind the scenes, but two recent additions set the rotation and lineup.
The Giants have their five starters in Logan Webb, Carlos Rodon, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Alex Cobb, who seem to be lining up in that order. Those five have their two catchers: rookie Joey Bart and returning backup Curt Casali.
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Barring a huge surprise or injuries, you can pretty much set the lineup. In the Brandons, the catchers, Evan Longoria, Wilmer Flores, Thairo Estrada, Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr., Darin Ruf and Austin Slater, you have a dozen locks. Tommy La Stella would be on that list, but he's unlikely to be ready by April 8 as he recovers from Achilles surgery.
Still, even that spot is pretty easy to figure out after Trevor Story ended up elsewhere. Mauricio Dubon, like Estrada, is out of options and is the frontrunner to take La Stella's roster spot early on, although non-roster invitee Jason Krizan is certainly pushing to make his Giants debut sometime in 2022.
Farhan Zaidi has mentioned multiple times this offseason that he would like to see more of Estrada and Steven Duggar, who has one option remaining, making it tougher for him to be on the opening day roster. It's not impossible, though; the Giants expect to have at least 28 roster spots in April and could carry Duggar as a sixth outfielder, allowing Pederson to be the DH. That would just be another familiar face for the lineup.
"The roster that we had last year, especially on the position player front, was pretty similar," Kapler said. "Obviously the catcher position is going to be one that's different. I feel pretty comfortable that we're going to have the same mix on the infield as we did when Longo was healthy and when Brandon (Belt) was healthy.
"The outfielders are all going to continue to get plenty of reps. I'm thinking of Yaz and Wade and Austin Slater -- they're probably going to be back in similar roles."
That’s potentially 14 position players just about locked in and five starters, and it’s not like there are any notable openings in the bullpen. Tyler Rogers, Jake McGee, Camilo Doval, Jarlin Garcia, Dom Leone, Jose Alvarez and Zack Littell could take the field tomorrow as perhaps the National League’s best group.
An expanded roster would allow for one, and maybe two additional pitchers, but Tyler Beede is out of options and it's not this front office's style to try and sneak someone with that kind of stuff through waivers before the season starts. Throw in a John Brebbia, Kervin Castro or Jakob Junis for depth early on and you're at 28, which is the best educated guess at the moment of what MLB will allow early on.
There will be things that change all of this, of course. Wood's injury late last spring opened the door for Webb to start the year in the rotation, and while all of the pitchers are doing well so far, there's a decent chance someone isn't quite ready for opening day.
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If MLB keeps rosters at 26 (which is unlikely), there would be a squeeze at the back end. It's also possible that Zaidi and Scott Harris see a looming crunch later in the season and decide to take care of the issue now. Dubon and Beede can't be sent to Triple-A, but plenty of teams could use Dubon's versatility and Beede could slide into a rotation for a rebuilding team. A trade in the next two weeks wouldn't at all be a surprise.
At the moment, though, the Giants are in pretty good shape and remarkably set for a team that's just three games into the exhibition season. As they tick days off the calendar, that should allow a group that talked so much about last season's great team chemistry to try and keep it going in a bid to win another NL West title.