Longoria has nontraditional prep, it could pay dividends
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> Anyone who’s watched an Evan Longoria at-bat over the last week would believe the San Francisco Giants third baseman is ready for the season to start.
Longoria, 35, is scalding the ball like he did in the prime of his career, drilling two hard-hit singles on Sunday against the D’backs before crushing a pair of home runs in his only two plate appearances on Tuesday against the Rangers.
“It’s bat speed, it’s explosiveness, and he looks very similar to a young Evan Longoria the way the bat is whistling through the zone,” manager Gabe Kapler said.
In the second inning at Scottsdale Stadium on Tuesday, Longoria squared up a mid-90s fastball from Rangers starter Taylor Hearn and deposited it onto the left field berm. An inning later, he saw a fastball from reliever Spencer Patton on the outer half of the plate and drove it over the right field fence.
“I think my focus in the cage and with our hitting guys has been more about plan and approach versus mechanical stuff, so I think that’s helped me as far as not really worrying about things on a daily basis and
not trying to tweak something every day,” Longoria said.
The approach has Longoria tied with prospect Heliot Ramos for the team lead in spring training home runs (3) despite the fact the veteran only has 13 at-bats. It’s an encouraging sign for the Giants to see Longoria drive the ball, but it’s particularly exciting because he’s lofting pitches in the air, too.
“The best time for Longo is when the hardest hit balls are in the air for him,” Kapler said. “As you know, we saw a lot of balls that he squared up last year on the ground and if some of those balls were in the air in big moments last year, we’re in the playoffs.”
As much as
Longoria
looks like he’s ready to hit in the middle of the Giants’ lineup, he’s not quite prepared for Opening Day. For much of his tenure with the club, the three-time All-Star has dealt with plantar fasciitis, which causes Longo
ria pain when he’s standing around for too long in the infield.
Kapler, Longoria and the Giants medical staff have worked on a solution this spring, which involves the third baseman partaking in infield drills with his teammates before games and short, high-intensity workouts that simulate gamespeed groundballs.
All of this is a substitute for actually playing third base, which Longoria hasn’t done yet in a Cactus League game and may not do until early next week.
“I’m not concerned about being able to play solid defense when I do get out there,” Longoria said. “I’m more focused on trying to be as healthy as I can when
the season starts. I’ll definitely be out there as soon as I feel like it’s as close as it’s going to be to good before the season starts.”
The Giants know Longoria’s plantar fasciitis will require him to take some additional days off to rest and recover during the regular season, so they’ve toyed with different defensive alignments throughout the spring.
Even though Wilmer Flores is a taller defender and Tommy La Stella has more experience playing third base than first base, the Giants believe when both players are on the field at the same time as second baseman Donovan Solano, Flores is best suited to play the hot corner while
La Stella can manage first base.
“In a scenario where let’s say Longoria is down for a couple of days or we need to give him a day off for any number of reasons, that’s the defensive configuration,” Kapler said. “How do those three work best? And right now, we have a lot of learning to do still and there’s a long time left in camp.”
The Giants haven’t mixed first baseman Brandon Belt in with that group yet in part because Belt’s status for Opening Day remains somewhat uncertain. After bouts with COVID-19 and mononucleosis, Belt is now participating in live batting practices, but the Giants don’t have a timetable for when he’ll see the field.