Zaidi: SF to lack roster drama
Giants keeping tabs on Belt, Wood, Longoria
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> With a week to go before the Giants meet the Mariners in Seattle on Opening Day, Farhan Zaidi acknowledged he has some difficult decisions to make.
Unlike previous years, the Giants’ president of baseball operations doesn’t have a lot of them.
“I feel like we may have a little less drama with our Opening Day roster than in some years past actually,” Zaidi told reporters in a videoconference Thursday. “The position player side, if some of our guys who are working their way back to health continue on the current positive trajectory, it’s pretty straightforward.”
With off days following each of their first two series, Zaidi said the Giants are leaning toward keep
ing 13 position players and 13 pitchers on the 26-man Opening Day roster. The Giants mostly know who will travel to Seattle, but are waiting to see how Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria and Alex Wood feel at the end of the weekend.
Belt had surgery to remove a bone spur in his right heel in October and was then diagnosed with COVID-19 and mononucleosis in the weeks leading up to spring training. Following a pinch-hit appearance on Wednesday against the Padres, the veteran first baseman said he’s feeling healthy and has improved his stamina, but the Giants want to make sure they aren’t pushing him too hard at the beginning of the year.
“I finally feel like I’m back to normal,” Belt said Wednesday. “You know, I don’t feel like I’ve lost any strength or anything like that. Don’t feel weak anymore. I feel really good right now.”
If Belt is unable to go by Opening Day, LaMonte Wade Jr. will have an inside track to a roster spot. The Giants optioned Wade’s primary competition, Jason Vosler, to minor league camp on Wednesday, clearing the way for Wade to make the team as a backup first baseman and outfielder if Belt isn’t available.
Longoria’s situation is slightly different than Belt’s as he has yet to play the field this spring due to plantar fasciitis in his foot, but has enjoyed a really strong spring at the plate. The veteran third baseman has hit three home runs, drawn rave reviews for his bat speed, and generally looked like a strong middle-of-the-order presence.
The Giants aren’t too concerned about Longoria’s ability to step in and play third base on Opening Day
against Seattle with limited spring training reps. The injury is one he’s managed since the 2019 season, and with a few other infielders including Wilmer Flores and Tommy La Stella who are comfortable at third base, the Giants may be able to give Longoria some additional off days this season.
“I wouldn’t see (Longoria) as a 162-game-a-season player, very few of those are around anymore anyway,” Zaidi said. “That was one of the reasons we felt like it was important to us to have different options in the infield, to build in those off days.”
Even if the Giants would prefer for Longoria to serve as the designated hitter throughout their threegame set in Seattle, the veteran infielder seems like a sure bet to make the Opening Day roster. The same can’t be said for Wood, who is trending in a good direction but is still recovering from an ablation for nerves in his lower back.
The left-handed starter was scheduled to throw his second bullpen since his procedure on Thursday in Scottsdale, but may need an additional week to build up
stamina before he’s able to join the team. Any absence would set up Logan Webb to open the season in the rotation, but after striking out 17 in 11 scoreless innings this spring, the 24-year-old righthander seems destined to secure a starting spot regardless of Wood’s health.
The other mild concern Zaidi has in the rotation is Aaron Sanchez, a righthander who missed the entire 2020 season while recovering from shoulder surgery. Sanchez was scheduled to make his second start of the spring on Thursday, but the Giants may also need to see him throw an additional live batting practice or extended bullpen before they feel comfortable having him start a regular-season game.
“We’ll see how far along he is, what his endurance is like; that was a little bit of an issue in his first game,” Zaidi said. “But he feels like he’s trending positively.”
The most challenging decisions Zaidi will have to make in the coming days are determining which non-roster invitees are deserving of 40-man roster spots and which players the team would cut to
clear space. Bullpen candidates Nick Tropeano and Dominic Leone have made strong impressions during the spring and have emerged as potential Opening Day relief options, but the Giants haven’t made any formal decisions yet.
Zaidi said the club has also kept close tabs on veteran pitchers Scott Kazmir and Shun Yamaguchi, who both entered camp on minor league deals. Kazmir seems likely to open the season at the Giants’ alternate site with the goal of eventually pitching out of the rotation or in a long relief role, whereas Yamaguchi, who has an opt-out clause in his contract, may exercise the freedom to pursue a job elsewhere.
One of the most important moves Zaidi expects the Giants to make in the coming days will be one that almost assuredly slips under the radar. With a lack of upper-level minor league depth at shortstop behind major leaguers Brandon Crawford and Mauricio Dubón, Zaidi said the front office wants to add a shortstop who would likely open the season at Triple-A.