Giants hope pinch-hit success carries over to designated hitters
Giants manager Gabe Kapler will put a designated hitter in the lineup against another National League team today for the first time since the pandemic-shortened season in 2020, and then do it 161 more times during the course of the season.
It will likely be Darin Ruf as the DH against the Miami Marlins today at Oracle Park, and perhaps through the weekend. Then odds are it will be a season of mix and match for Kapler as he calculates the best matchups as well as ways to get partial days off players he wishes to keep in the lineup.
In other words, don't expect the Giants to go the route many American League teams do and find a defensively challenged player who can hit to take the bulk of the DH swings.
Kapler sounded a little wistful about removing an element of strategy from the game.
“It might just not be as fun,” Kapler said. “The National League style is great. You get to think about what the best time is to hit for a pitcher. There's the doubleswitch and fun nuances. I think we're still going to be aggressive using our bench. It's nice to have the DH spot because you can get guys off their feet from time to time.”
The Giants are coming off a season when they led the majors with 346 atbats by pinch hitters and a major leaguerecord 18 pinch-hit home runs. The next best figure was 10. Giants pinch hitters hit only .199 but were first in walks (47), second in hits (69) and second in doubles (16).
When Ruf isn't manning the DH spot, he'll be one of those pinch hitters, with others such as Wilmer Flores, Tommy La Stella (when healthy) and Joc Pederson available as well.
“In 2020, we got a little taste of that and I liked it because that gets a hitter more opportunities,” Flores said. “It's going to be a little different but I think it opens up the door for players.”
Kapler says to some extent the skills which help a pinch hitter excel are transferrable to being a designated hitter.
“A lot of being a good hitter is preparation, and a lot of being a good pinch hitter is preparation and not necessarily being on the field,” Kapler said. “We have a lot of work we can do in the cage in terms of learning the opposing pitchers, but being mentally prepared when you walk up to the plate to attack the first pitch and be especially aggressive on a pitch we can drive ...”
Flores, who will probably get more DH work when third baseman Evan Longoria comes off the injured list, will await the call.
“Being a DH is different because you start the game and are going to have multiple at-bats,” Flores said. “Pinch hitting means you have to be ready because you only get one chance. Each of us individually knows what we have to do to be ready.”
The 15-13 split
After earlier indicating the 28-man roster would be divided among 14 pitchers and 14 position players, the Giants instead went with 15 pitchers — five starters and 10 relievers.
“I think you're seeing that around the league, people being extra cautious with their pitching staffs,” Giants director of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said. “You look at a 10-man bullpen, we'll have plenty of coverage tomorrow but the issue becomes when you're playing that fourth, fifth, sixth game in a row. Options dwindle as to who's up. We're not wedded to it for the entire month, but coming out of the gate, it made sense to have coverage there and not overly tax pitchers out of the gate.”
Seeing double in the NL West
Tyler Rogers' twin brother, Taylor, has joined the division, going to the San Diego Padres in a deal that sent Chris Paddack to the Minnesota Twins.
The identical twins don't approach their craft the same, with Tyler being a submarining right-hander while Taylor is a lefty.
“My family is excited,” Tyler Rogers said. “The NL West is the best-looking division in baseball.”
Tyler would ordinarily not see his brother throughout the season, but the Giants play the Padres 19 times.
“I'm looking forward to seeing him throughout the year,” Tyler Rogers said. “Dinners are on him.”