Kapler may not choose closer before season

thony Dominguez (16) had well more than half of them.

The Giants do not have an obvious candidate. They employ a seasoned reliever in Tony Watson who closed with the Pirates after they traded Mark Melancon in 2016. They also have a number of experienced short relievers and younger pitchers who fit the key job description: They throw gas.

Kapler and his staff have brought a new springtraining philosophy to Scottsdale, new for the Giants anyway.

They do not want their relievers to view themselves as short or long guys. The Giants plan to stretch most of the pitchers with multipleinning outings in Cactus League games to prepare them for potential midgame roles. They can always dial back the pitchers they deem a better fit for short relief.

Trevor Gott got that message Friday morning during what Kapler termed a “player plan meeting” and said the righthander, who has the stuff to pitch late relief, was receptive.

Relievers traditionally prefer defined roles to help them gear up mentally and physically at the right time midgame. But Kapler is among a new breed of managers who believe that flexibility is far more important for team success.

That word — flexibility — is being drilled into the heads of players in the minors throughout baseball. Then, as the prospects rise to the majors, they should be less hung up on roles.

“I think that the game is changing dramatically and relievers know that there are fewer of those surefire, ‘You’re the seventh, eighth and ninth guy,’ ” Kapler said. “Those are actually more rare now than anything else.

“I do think players in general like to know their roles, and in a perfect world we can lay that out for them. We don’t have relievers in our ’pen that are married to any role, and I think that’s fun and unique about our camp.”