Camp battles are taking place.
Spring Training is underway, and it’s about to be really and fully underway. Scores of position players are already at Papago Park training with the San Francisco Giants pitchers and catchers, but tomorrow marks the first full squad workout, while all 60 players who are invited to big league camp must be in attendance, and ready to rock. On Saturday, they’ll play their first Cactus League game, with Opening Day barely a month after that.
As is the case for every team this time of year, the roster isn’t fully set for the Giants. Manager Bob Melvin has been pretty open already that he sees a mainstay already locked into every position except designated hitter. And while he hasn’t explicitly mentioned the names, we know who they are: Patrick Bailey at catcher, LaMonte Wade Jr. at first base, Tyler Fitzgerald at second base, Matt Chapman at third base, Willy Adames at shortstop, Heliot Ramos in left field, Mike Yastrzemski in right field, and Jung Hoo Lee in center field.
That likely leaves five spots left for position players, and those battles will be fun.
Luis Matos, Grant McCray, Marco Luciano, and Wade Meckler will compete for backup outfield spots. Casey Schmitt, Brett Wisely, and Osleivis Basabe will compete for backup infield spots. Wilmer Flores and Jerar Encarnación are in contention for DH and backup first base spots (as well as the outfield for Encarnación), though I’m not sure they’re competing with each other. It’s unclear if the Giants would consider a first-and-third backup who can’t play the middle of the infield, but Jake Lamb and David Villar will fight to prove they’re deserving. And while Tom Murphy is the incumbent backup catcher, Sam Huff and Max Stassi will try to make that a battle.
And then there’s the pitchers. Four-fifths of the rotation is set, with Logan Webb, Justin Verlander, Robbie Ray, and Jordan Hicks. The battle for the fifth spot is likely between Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong, and Landen Roupp, though there’s no shortage of other exciting arms that will try to expand that competition. I see five locks in the bullpen (Ryan Walker, Camilo Doval, Erik Miller, Tyler Rogers, and Sean Hjelle), leaving three open spots there, assuming the team carries 13 pitchers.
There’s a lot that’s set, but there’s a lot that’s still up for grabs.
Which positional battle are you most interested in?