Although many players arrived before the official reporting date, all Giants position players have now joined pitchers and catchers in Scottsdale with the first full-squad workout scheduled for Wednesday.
There's been a ton of talk about the new offseason workout of Tim Lincecum, Tim Hudson's ankle and of course, the abundant weight loss from Pablo Sandoval. While all three subjects will be watched
closely over the next few weeks, I'm most curious to see how this new offseason throwing program will work out for Lincecum. Up until this winter, Timmy had never thrown off a mound during an offseason, but hopes the work he put in prior to spring training will help him get on track quicker in the Cactus League and lead to a much better start to 2014 than he had to '13. As for the other Tim in the rotation, all signs have been pointing towards him being a full-go with no special restrictions (other than your normal pitch count watch for starters in early April) for his first scheduled start of the season. He says to have no issue with the surgically repaired ankle when throwing though he does notice it when breaking off the mound to field balls or cover first. Although they haven't really said anything about their plans for the starters to begin the Cactus League, I'd be surprised if we didn't see Huddy make his first scheduled appearance along with the other four.
Buster Posey, getting to catch Huddy for the first time, said the 38 year-old veteran, along with the other four projected starters all looked good for their initial bullpen sessions. He had similar things to say about the relievers he caught as well, which is standard for this time of year, but is certainly always reassuring to see everyone healthy enough to throw.
As for the positional guys, the talk of the camp so far has been about how good everyone feels physically. Marco Scutaro, who was handicapped by a bum finger for over half the season last year says he should have no carry over effects from the injury and plans to be 100% ready by opening day though he will take it cautiously this spring to ensure that. Also, Angel Pagan has shown up in good
health and good spirits. Many people like to focus only on the starting pitching as being the reason for last years letdown, but the Giants top of the order was basically non-existent for much of the year. We all saw how hot the offense got when Pagan was moved to the leadoff spot for good after mid-season in 2012, and it's crucial the Giants get him back to the level he was performing at then, and keep him on the field this time around. His all out play will leave him susceptible to injury, but he's not going to change a thing and the Giants aren't asking him too. He even added some more muscle this season which could translate to more extra-base power from the Giants all-time single season triples king.
The only Giants pitcher who has yet to join the squad is Santiago Casilla, as he's clearing up visa issues in his native Dominican Republic. The Giants are hopeful he'll join them before the week is over. Also, unless they resolve the issue in the next 12 hours, it looks like Brandon Belt and the Giants are headed for an arbitration hearing early Wednesday. Arbitration hearings can a pain, but the club and the player are still nearly $2M apart on a salary for 2014, so it seems inevitable.
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