SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Real baseball gets closer by the day, and on Friday morning, we finally got a 2019 Giants lineup.
Well, kind of.
The group that will take the field Saturday against the Angels includes potentially just one starter, depending on who you think will win the jobs in left and right. But there still will be plenty to watch.
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Cameron Maybin and Yangervis Solarte will make their Giants debuts, hitting first and third, respectively. Mac Williamson, Austin Slater and Henry Ramos, all fighting for outfield jobs, will start. Drew Ferguson, the Rule 5 pick, is starting in center. Aramis Garcia, who hopes to win a backup job, will catch Chris Stratton.
Stratton may be in the toughest spot. He is out of options and seventh on the starting depth chart.
"He's a guy we look at as a starter and a long man," manager Bruce Bochy said. "The guys that are out of options, we've got to make a call there for sure."
Stratton has had some dominant stretches at the big league level but hasn't shown consistency. Ditto for Ty Blach, who will be stretched out this spring but profiles as a reliever moving forward. Although you never know ...
San Francisco Giants
"You saw what happened last year," Bochy said, smiling. "He ended up being our Opening Day starter."
Bochy plans to have Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt and Joe Panik in the lineup Sunday for the home Cactus League opener. He had previously said that Buster Posey, coming off hip surgery, will not play until March 1. On Friday, Bochy said Steven Duggar (shoulder surgery) and Ryder Jones (knee surgery) will also be held out until March 1.
Duggar still should have plenty of time to try to win the job in center.
"This was the plan," Bochy said. "But he's doing well. He's doing just about everything. We just don't want him diving for a ball."
--- The main story today is on Mac Williamson, who battled a concussion last season. He opened up about how difficult the summer was.
--- Nick Vincent passed his physical last night and is officially a Giant.
"A good arm, a good pitcher," Bochy said. "He increases our depth on the bullpen side."
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The Giants will have some pretty good arms headed for Sacramento no matter how this all plays out. On a related note, the River Cats announced that they're lowering some of their ticket prices. Even before this, that was a place I have always recommended to Giants fans. It's a really fun place to watch a game.