GETTING UP TO SPEED
Hamilton’s arrival in camp presents interesting options for Kapler, Giants
SAN FRANCISCO >> Billy Hamilton does everything in a hurry on the baseball field.
With less a week until the season opener, Hamilton may try to prove to the Giants coaching staff he can get ready in a hurry, too.
The former Cincinnati Reds center fielder signed with the Giants as a minor league free agent during the offseason and emerged as a potential role player during spring training, but hasn’t been with the team since the club began summer workouts at Oracle Park.
During an intrasquad scrimmage Thursday, Hamilton walked in from the center field bullpen in street clothes and was greeted with applause by teammates in the third base dugout.
Hamilton is still on the Giants’ 10-day injured list due to undisclosed “medical reasons,” but his arrival Thursday indicated he could reenter the mix for a roster spot.
First-year Giants manager Gabe Kapler put the brakes on that plan, indicating fans shouldn’t expect to see Hamilton on the field next Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
“I don’t see that as a realistic expectation right now,” Kapler said. “I think one of the things that we know is that building up legs are just as important as building up arm strength and just as important building up number of swings. Anything that you do explosive on a baseball field, if you don’t have the right build-up and the ramp-up, you put your body at risk.”
With MLB rosters expanding to 30 players for the first two weeks of the 2020 season, teams will have the luxury of carrying extra players who can affect the outcome of games in specific ways.
Some clubs will opt to carry another all-or-nothing powerhitter while others will add a sixth or seventh starting pitcher to keep their top arms fresh at the beginning of the summer. A few clubs might do both.
If the Giants want to take advantage of the opportunity, they could keep Hamilton on their opening day roster and use the speedy center fielder as a late
game pinch-runner or defensive replacement if he shows he’s ready.
It might take Hamilton a few weeks to get his timing down at the plate, but the Giants don’t need him to stand in the batter’s box to make an impact.
In each of the last three seasons, Hamilton’s sprint speed has ranked in the 97th percentile or above according to Statcast, making him one of the fastest players in all of baseball. The lightning-quick outfielder has never posted an OPS+ higher than 81 (league average is 100), but he’s carved out a sevenyear MLB career anyway, thanks to his tremendous range in center field and elite baserunning abilities.
Even if Hamilton isn’t available the first week of the season, his presence could change the way Kapler and Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi view the outfield depth chart. Less experienced players such as Steven Duggar, Jaylin Davis and Austin Slater are all vying for jobs, but one or two could be boxed out of a few opportunities early in the season if the front office thinks Hamilton can serve as a late-game weapon.
Need a run in the eighth inning? Sub in Hamilton. Want to put your best defenders in the game to protect a ninth-inning lead? Send Hamilton to center and shift Mauricio Dubón and Mike Yastrzemski around the diamond.
The possibilities are intriguing, particularly because the Giants don’t need to worry about Hamilton taking at-bats away from most of the younger outfielders they want to evaluate.
Creating opportunities for inexperienced outfielders was the rationale Zaidi used to sign free-agent Hunter Pence, a part-time player, in lieu of Yasiel Puig, an outfielder who spent the offseason pursuing a chance with a team that viewed him as an everyday starter. It’s the rationale the organization used when Zaidi non-tendered 2019 Willie Mac Award winner and fan favorite Kevin Pillar, and the rationale Kapler continues to use in discussing the flexibility the Giants have maintained in the outfield by not committing to naming players to specific roles.
Hamilton is no longer an everyday outfielder and it’s possible the switch-hitting center fielder isn’t even a good fit for a platoon role. But taking away at-bats shouldn’t prevent Hamilton from contributing in a positive way, unlike the vast majority of players.
Kapler can pick and choose spots to deploy Hamilton in short bursts and let his speed do the rest.
The only question is whether the Giants will feel comfortable carrying a player who will have just seven days to get in shape.
“We’ll be as patient as we need to be with Billy,” Kapler said.