Could Silver Slugger winner Solano be just a part-time player?
Two years after Donovan Solano wrapped up his second consecutive season as a part-time Triple-A infielder, the Barranquilla, Colombia native received an unexpected honor.
A month after Solano’s Giants fell one win shy of a playoff berth, the player teammates call “Donnie Barrels” learned he won the National League Silver Slugger Award at second base.
“I saw the numbers from Robinson Canó and thought it was going to be a little bit difficult to win it,” Solano said through Spanish language translator Erwin
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Higueros. “I was surprised that I won.”
The award, given annually to the best offensive player at each position, was hardly on Solano’s radar through a professional career that dates all the way back to 2005, when he played rookie ball in the Cardinals organization.
Solano made his major league debut in 2012 and spent parts of four seasons as a glove-first infielder with the Marlins before he had a nine-game cameo with the Yankees in 2016. After playing in 99 games with New York’s TripleA affiliate in 2017 and 81 games with the Dodgers’ Triple-A club the following season, Solano didn’t appear to be on the brink of a breakout in the majors.
Yet that’s exactly what happened in San Francisco.
After following Farhan Zaidi from the Dodgers to the Giants on a minor league deal, Solano batted .330 with a stunning .815 OPS in 228 plate appearances in 2019. Much of the league brushed Solano’s offensive numbers off as a fluke from a player who had a career OPS+ of 76 before arriving at Oracle Park, but in 2020, Solano proved everyone wrong.
With a .326 average and an .828 OPS, Solano beat out Canó, who had an .896 OPS but fewer appearances at second base, for the Silver Slugger.
What’s next for the 33-year-old infielder enjoying a late career renaissance?
“I want to hit more home runs,” Solano said Wednesday.
After hitting just three in 2020, Solano should have a good chance to surpass that total now that the Giants are scheduled to play 162 games. The primary challenge Solano faces is finding a way to stay on the field.
With the Giants’ addition of infielder Tommy La Stella in the offseason, it’s unlikely Solano will play much second base against right-handed pitchers.
Early in his career, Solano was a capable shortstop, but when asked what the depth chart looked like at that position Wednesday, manager Gabe Kapler didn’t mention Solano’s name. Barring a move from Major League Baseball to implement the designated hitter in the National League, it appears most of Solano’s plate appearances will come in starts against lefties and late in games in pinch-hit situations.
A part-time role isn’t what most reigning Silver Slugger Award winners are looking at this year, but the Giants are confident their impressive depth in the infield will help them create as many favorable matchups as possible this season. MCGEE FACES HITTERS >> No pitcher in baseball relied more heavily on a fastball last season than new Giants left-hander Jake McGee, who threw his fourseamer on more than 96% of all pitches.
McGee tossed 320 fastballs and just 10 sliders in a Dodgers uniform last year, but during his first live batting practice of the spring Wednesday, the southpaw proved he can still spin off a breaking ball and fool a hitter. With top Giants outfield prospect Heliot Ramos in the batter’s box, McGee threw plenty of fastballs,
but also ripped off a few sliders including one that induced a big whiff from the 21-year-old slugger.
In 24 games with the Dodgers last season, McGee struck out 33 batters while walking just three, allowing him to limit damage when hitters did make contact. Despite ranking in the bottom four percentile of pitchers in hard hit percentage, McGee still finished the year with a 2.66 ERA because batters consistently had trouble putting the ball in play. WADE READY FOR CENTER FIELD >> LaMonte Wade Jr. wasn’t even part of the Giants’ organization until the first week of February, but he was clearly on the radar of the front office and coaching staff.
When Kapler began thinking about who might play center field for the Giants in 2021, he considered Wade, who made his major league debut in 2019 with the Twins.
“We’ll see what type of defender he is out there in the middle,” Kapler said.”I spent a lot of time thinking about him this offseason before we acquired him.”
Zaidi and Giants general manager Scott Harris have each mentioned Wade as a possible option in center field, but both have noted the University of Maryland product may be better suited to play in one of the corners. At the very least, the Giants are going to see what Wade is capable of in center as Kapler said he’ll start the left-handed hitting outfielder at the position in one of the team’s first two Cactus League games.
“I feel comfortable at all three (outfield positions),” Wade said Wednesday. “From a defensive standpoint,
I feel like I’m going to be able to bring energy and cover some ground out there and communicate with the guys. I look forward to getting out here with the outfielders in game-like situations just to see how everyone is moving out there.”
With Wade in the fold, the Giants should rotate through a variety of players in center field during Cactus League play. Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater, Jaylin Davis and Steven Duggar are all ticketed for reps at the position while prospects Heliot Ramos and Hunter Bishop are both in major league camp and being groomed as center fielders of the future.
• First baseman Brandon Belt has been feeling “under the weather” according to Kapler, but his absences in workouts have not been COVID-related. Belt is recovering from offseason heel surgery and the Giants remain optimistic he’ll be ready for Opening Day.
• Prospect Camilo Doval impressed during a live batting practice session Wednesday and while he missed his spot on a few sliders, it’s easy to see why the Giants think he can be a high-leverage option in the near future. Doval’s high-90s cutter is difficult for hitters to pick up, particularly with his deceptive windup.
• Left-handed pitching prospect Sam Long, who signed a minor league deal with the Giants this offseason, continues to impress Kapler as he mixed in a plus changeup with a fastball he can throw up in the strike zone and a good curveball during a live batting practice session Wednesday. Long attended Sacramento State.