Exhibition baseball is here and the Giants have started the great two-oh-one-eight roster shake-down. It's not going to feature much drama as the big spots have already been filled. The infield is set with Brandons Belt & Crawford, Joe Panik, and FNG Evan Longoria. Buster Posey and Nick Hundley will share the catching duties. The outfield trio of Hunter Pence with FNGs Austin Jackson and Andrew McCutchen is also set. That's nine guys. The rotation will have the big three of Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, and Jeff Samardzija. Now we are up to twelve. The bullpen will feature Mark Melancon, Sam Dyson, Hunter Strickland, Cory Gearrin, and FNG Tony Watson. (Will Smith will make the team but is still healing from TJS, we'll have to count his spot, too.) That bring us to seventeen, eighteen with Smith's spot. All the rest of the guys in camp will be competing for the final seven places on the 25-man roster.
There will be two more starters: Chris Stratton is the obvious pick; Ty Blach, Andrew Suarez, Derek Holland and the rest will fight for the other spot. Derek Law and Steven Okert could both make the bullpen. That's a 12-man staff already. With the nine position players listed above only four openings remain. Two will be outfielders, perhaps a non-roster invitee like Steven Duggar will surprise us, or we'll see a familiar face like Jarrett Parker, Mac Williamson, or even Austin Slater. I think Pablo Sandoval has a good shot at one backup spot--he plays both corners and could probably still catch in a pinch. He's got some pop and hits from both sides, but the biggest appeal is that he costs nothing. With the team oh-so-close to the luxury tax threshold I suspect that could be important. That means we may see a rookie bump a veteran guy like Gregor Blanco so they can save a few bucks. Kelby Tomlinson probably has the inside track for chief utility man--how many guys have a homer off Clayton Kershaw on their résumé? But I suppose even that job is open, at least Orlando Calixte hopes so.
I'm not expecting any earth-shattering news out of camp and I'm tuning out all injury reports. I had enough of injured players last season. The key to the 2018 club is to get the talented guys on the field and keep them on the field! That's up to the gods, of course, and I've had my fill of them as well. So I'll face those issues with irrepressible American optimism and psychological defense mechanisms like denial.
It's still winter here in the State of Jefferson despite Spring's best efforts to ruin everything. My ski buddy and I traveled to Wyoming and Utah to find some powder and when we got home our local mountain (just over the Oregon border) came to life. I'm getting up early tomorrow for fresh tracks, hoping the 6-10" forecast comes true. It may be baseball weather in the desert but I want to squeeze out a few more weeks of cold and snow so I can get my fill on the slopes.
I'm excited about the upcoming season. I think the club did some good work in the off-season and worked creatively with the budget and the roster to make the needed improvements. As we found out in 2017 it can all go to shit in a hurry, but I like what I see and I expect a spirited pennant race.
Let me know your thoughts about the impending fight in the NL West and be sure to straighten me out on my personnel lists. Did I overlook anyone? The first real game isn't until the 29th of March (in LA vs. Dodgers) so there is plenty of time. Any stories coming out of Spring Training that we need to talk about?
As always, GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
13 comments:
So I have a question on the luxury tax. If the Giants go barely over, say, $150,000 over, do they pay tax on the $150,000 or do they pay tax on their entire payroll?
Here's a link. I think the idea of avoiding the threshold is more about the "reset" than the dollars. The Giants can "start over" if they avoid the tax.
And I like this bit from Jarrett Parker:
"I believe in the abundance theory," Parker said. "I think there's enough success for everyone. So I don't look at it like it's me versus another player. Those cards aren't anything I can control. Other people make those decisions. I can only control what I can control, which is trying to get better every day and trying to play my game. That's all that I'm really going to worry about."
I like the psychology that athletes have to master to be successful. It seems like there's stuff we can all learn for ordinary, everyday things.
Sandoval hits from both sides
Is there some ultra secret stat that indicates this?
biggest appeal
This is an appealing bench piece?
Glove isn't good enough to be a defensive replacement
Doesn't get on base enough to be a PH, and
Has to be run for if he happens to
Is chronically out of shape
he costs nothing
And not even worth that!
Does Sandoval cost nothing? I think the Giants are on the hook for the major league minimum, over $.5M, as long as he’s on their roster. The incentive to have him has to do with his outplaying some hypothetical rookie, that and his clubhouse presence as, one gathers, sort of a sophomoric court jester.
Yeah I think they may be outlaying the ML minimum, which is what a rookie would cost, so "nothing" to me means "no impact on the cap." A lot of former starters turn out to be useful bench guys when their starting days are over. In Panda's case, he's a veteran that the Giants don't have to pay veteran rates for, and I like that. Obviously he still has to be able to play, but I think he will be a good role player and bench presence.
I listened to part of today's game and it seems as if, even in spring training, that the giants still have a jinx place on them. Giants load the bases in the second inning with no outs. Rutledge hits a long fly, apparently just foul, then K's on a questionable pitch. Next batter hits a liner toward first, if the radio was correct, guy makes a nice stab, robs the giants of an extra base hit, and runs back to first to double up the giants for the third out. Reminds me of the bases loaded triple play that Crawford hit into a couple of seasons ago. Someone needs to reverse the hex that was put on the giants during the 2016 all star game.
I think Sandoval basically suffered 2 seasons of significant injuries. Do not know that his talent, when healthy has dropped off as much as many think. Despite his weight, he is a talented athlete. We should not write him off, until the actual time comes. The only worry about Sandoval when healthy, it seems to me, is that he is a guy who needs to get his timing, Kind of like Pence, and if he has a part time role, not sure that this is going to happen. Of course many would disagree, but I thought the Arroyo/Sandoval third base option was decent, and our real need was to get a superior centerfielder. We supposedly fortressed third base, but our center field is still iffy.
Not trying to be snarky, but if anyone can look at Pablo's career trajectory and last healthy season - 470 AB in 2015 - and see reason for anything beyond hope, I'm happy to change my mind.
https://is.gd/qqZt8R
He's not guaranteed a spot, he'll have to make the team, so he'll have to show he can still play. I'm hoping he still can, and I think that a part-time role might be a good fit.
Big-Time Timmy-Jim goes to Texas.
Injury, can have significant effect. Athletes are not the same when injured and healthy. Many try to play injured, but only a few, like Mickey Mantle, can play at a high level when injured. Most have significant fall offs. One guy who had arm trouble in the old days Mike McCormick, fell off severely. His arm started to feel better, and he came back, and at least for a short time, he was good again. Today we have all kinds of surgeries for pitchers, but after a year or so, most come back to be decent again. Some do not, and some even get better than ever. I would have wanted to see what an Arroyo/Sandoval option would have offered, and gone for a center fielder. Of course, I am just a diehard fan, and over the years, not so sure that GM's are that much smarter. Perhaps they are much smarter.
I too was looking forward to seeing the youngster (Arroyo) but the club wanted a veteran and I can't blame them for that. This April is a sort of make-or-break situation for the team. Normally poor starts aren't that big of a deal but after the 2016 post-ASB collapse and the terrible season last year the Giants can't afford to screw up in the early going. Plus they play LA ten times and that's just a ridiculous scheduling quirk. So they HAVE to split those games at the very least. I think that's where the veteran push came from. They can't have a shaky sophomore with so much riding on the first month. Unless that shaky soph is, say, Cody Bellinger or a similar talent. I don't think Arroyo is at that level but you never know!
I wonder if getting a decent hitter from the American League, is a great idea for the first month or so, as he will most likely need time to adjust to the national league. But, that is speculation, and it is possible that he will start out great. Would be interesting to see how a lot of our guys do in April. but I suspect the stats are not consistent from year to year.
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