The Giants' pitchers and catchers have been in Scottsdale now for the better part of a week, and on Sunday, they were joined by the rest of the position players.
So far things have been pretty quiet on the Giants' front. The biggest news to take out of the first week of spring are a couple of injuries that were disclosed, as well as possible position battle shaping up at catcher.
First off let's get to the injuries.
The concerning one was the news about Marco Luciano's stress fracture on his back. The organization's top positional prospect had his season cut short due to back injuries last year and was supposed to make up some of those missed at bats in Dominican winter league ball. Unfortunately that didn't go as planned, and the Giants are not clear on when they expect the 21 year-old to return to the diamond. As of now, he looks to be in danger of not only missing all of spring but maybe having the start of his minor league regular season delayed as well. My guess is that when he is able to get back on the field, he's brought along very slowly.
It's a tough pill to swallow for a minor league system that dealt with a lot of injuries and under-performance issues with multiple guys in their top-10 list last season. All we can really hope at this point is that this set-back doesn't push back his ETA to the big leagues. A lot of people around the team expect him to be an option for them by next season. In order for him to stay on that timeline though, he's going to have to both pile up at-bats and produce in them this summer.
The Giants don't believe his back issues are stemming from him playing shortstop, although there has been talk for a few years now that his future is looking more and more likely ticketed for the outfield.
A less concerning issue, although one that could effect the bullpen to start the year, is a strained right lat on Cole Waites. This one, luckily, isn't expected to sideline him for all of spring training as his MRI revealed no tear. Best case is he's back on the mound and throwing within 10 days. Gabe Kaplar said he expects Waites to still be an option to make this team out of spring.
Aside from the bullpen getting sorted out, Kaplar eluded that both Giants catching jobs are completely open to competition heading into spring. Everyone assumed that Joey Bart would claim that starting gig, and I still think that's the plan, but it sounds like Kap is igniting a little competition in that catcher's room.
It's likely an attempt to motivate Bart a little bit. He's by far the most talented of the bunch, but there are certainly aspects of his game that need refining. He's come a long way defensively since that 2020 debut, but he still has some issues back there from time to time. His strikeout rate has to improve though, no question about it. There were stretches last year where he was striking out in nearly half his plate appearances. The general belief is he can be better, now is the time to prove it.
I still think Roberto Perez is the favorite to claim that second spot, but Blake Sabol has been getting a lot of buzz around camp and is apparently very much in this mix. Sabol has a strong left-handed bat, but doesn't have nearly the experience behind the plate as the other three, so he's facing an uphill battle.
First base is also getting some attention early on. LaMonte Wade Jr. is slated to start the year as the primary guy, but the coaching staff is working with Joc Pederson there as well. Wade is coming off a injury-plagued 2022 season, and if he runs into any of those issues again, Pederson could give the Giants some left-handed depth at the position.
If Joc doesn't work out at first base, the next left-handed option, Ronald Guzman, becomes an intriguing player. He's already turning some heads this spring with his left-handed power arm on the mound in addition to his left-handed power in the batter's box.
Guzman's two-way capability gives him an outside shot at cracking the roster but as with Sabol, it will not be easy. Aside from Wade, the Giants already have two or three options at first on their roster and that's all Guzman has played, aside from pitching.
He's going to be interesting to watch over the next six weeks, regardless. May not make the team out of spring but he could put himself on the short list of players who the club would look to as soon as injuries start popping up.
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