Reviewing the Giants’ Opening Day Roster
This year’s iteration of the Giants was always going to look very different without the return of franchise stalwart Buster Posey. Though the Giants did make numerous moves to shore up their pitching staff over the offseason, their biggest ticket addition to replace the offensive production of Posey and Kris Bryant was quite underwhelming in Joc Pederson.
Pederson’s left-handed bat was also an ill-fitting addition to a team who struggled to hit Dodgers lefties in the postseason last year. Trying to replicate a 107-win season would have been a fool’s errand, but overall, the Giants’ front office seemed content with sitting back and enjoying some cost savings before a young wave of prospect talent becomes big-league ready.
With the benefit of a 28-man roster for the season’s first month, the Giants elected to carry two additional relievers rather than add an extra position player to the bench. Considering three of their projected starters (Evan Longoria, Tommy La Stella and LaMonte Wade Jr.) have begun the season on the 10-day IL, this strategy makes sense, and they could potentially go down to a nine-man bullpen once one of those guys returns. For now, here’s a look at the guys who will be filling the clubhouse on Opening Weekend.
Catchers: R Joey Bart and R Curt Casali
No surprise here that the only two catchers in the organization with big-league experience are the ones who made the club. Casali should provide a reliable veteran presence to back up the young and unproven Bart, who Farhan Zaidi and company are showing a lot of faith in by not even acquiring an experienced catcher to stash in Triple-A. Bart did have a nice Spring, though (8-22 with 3 homers) and has earned himself plenty of rope to sink or swim this year.
Infielders: L Brandon Belt, L Brandon Crawford, R Mauricio Dubón, Thairo Estrada, R Wilmer Flores, R Luke Williams
The two Brandons will provide a healthy dose of normalcy to the lineup as they try and match their career years from last season. Dubón and Estrada are both out of minor league options, and Dubón’s grasp on a roster spot is tenuous at best, as he will probably have to perform quite well to not be outrighted once La Stella and Longoria return. Estrada, meanwhile, should get a fair amount of playing time at second base in La Stella’s absence and will make for a capable multi-position backup later in the season, if not more. Flores stands to get a lot of reps in at third base until being pushed into a roving DH/1B/2B/3B role when Longoria’s finger heals up. Williams is a utility guy who suited up in every position except pitcher and catcher for the Phillies last year, and he was acquired in a minor swap with them just over a week ago. His defensive versatility may be his greatest asset, as he wasn’t much of a slugger over his minor league career, but he does come with minor league options so that he can ride the bus between San Francisco and Sacramento this summer.
Outfielders: L Steven Duggar, L Joc Pederson, R Darin Ruf, R Austin Slater, L Mike Yastrzemski
The exact outfield they carried for much of last season, other than swapping out Wade for Pederson. Pederson and Ruf could potentially settle into a productive platoon in left field with each also seeing time at DH a few times per week. Duggar, Slater and utilityman Dubón figure to see most of the center field time, but Yaz is also capable of manning that spot when he’s not in his usual right field position. Kapler and Zaidi love leveraging platoons, and they could theoretically go with an all-lefty outfield of Pederson, Duggar and Yastrzemski against righties and an all-righty outfield of Ruf, Dubón and Slater against lefties.
Starting Pitchers: R Logan Webb, L Carlos Rodón, R Anthony DeSclafani, L Alex Wood, R Alex Cobb
Webb looked to be every bit of an ace in the second half and postseason last year, and he’ll be rewarded for those efforts by starting the home opener against the Marlins on Friday. Rodón was the Giants’ marquee offseason addition, coming off a remarkable year where he put up a pristine 2.37 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 132.2 IP. The worries about Rodón are health-related, and that’s what limited him to a two-year, $44 million deal with an opt-out clause after this season. He missed the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and over a month last season with shoulder fatigue, but when he’s on the mound, he’s been dominant. DeSclafani and Wood return to their roles as reliable innings-eaters in the middle of the rotation, and newcomer Cobb rounds out the rotation after spending last season in Anaheim. Cobb was very successful in his 93.1 innings for the Angels last year, sporting a 3.76 ERA and excellent 2.92 FIP – not an easy feat for someone who’s generally been more of a pitch-to-contact hitter. He’s 34 years old on a two-year deal, but the Giants are hoping he can replicate the step forward he took last year.
Bullpen: L José Álvarez, R Tyler Beede, R John Brebbia, R Camilo Doval, L Jarlín García, R Dominic Leone, R Zack Littell, L Sam Long, L Jake McGee, R Tyler Rogers
I ran out of breath just typing this. The Giants will enjoy a plethora of arm barn options to start out the year, literally all of whom spent time in the organization last year. Beede’s inclusion is a result of having no remaining minor league options, but it’s at least a moderate surprise that he made the team over offseason acquisition Carlos Martínez after Kapler’s comments about his readiness. “I don’t think they’re in the same category right now,” Kapler said about comparing Beede and Sam Long’s progress. “I think Tyler has more work to do to establish himself as a major league pitcher again, whereas Sam, I think, is really right there.” Though both Beede and Long will represent long relief options for Kapler, it seems apparent who he has more confidence in at the outset. Doval, McGee and Rogers will probably share closing opportunities for the time being, with middle relief options consisting of the usual suspects in Álvarez, Littell, García, Leone, and Brebbia.
The Giants are already in a position of having to rely upon depth to fill in for missing key contributors, but luckily they have accumulated a healthy assortment of major league talent. What they are missing, however, is elite-level contributors necessary to go toe-to-toe with their arch-rival Dodgers. Anything can happen over the course of a season, but at the time of writing, the Giants once again find themselves in the familiar position of underdogs.
