Using DH gives Giants’ Kapler another spot for his tinkering
SAN FRANCISCO >> If the National League never decides to adopt the designated hitter, that would be fine with Giants manager Gabe Kapler.
At the same time, Kapler is looking forward to getting few extra at-bats for a role player or veteran this weekend as the Giants visit the Athletics in the conclusion of this year’s Bay Bridge Series at the Coliseum.
“It’d be cool to know that one through nine we’re going to have a high-quality hitter in each spot,” Kapler said.
As managers go, Kapler wheels and deals more than most. In the platoon system he operates, the Giants have 259 pinch-hit at-bats this season, the most in Major League Baseball. Although their pinch-hitters are hitting just .189, they do lead the majors
with 12 home runs and are second with 33 RBIs.
Having a designated hitter removes some of the strategy.
“I love managing with a pitcher in the lineup,” Kapler said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Kapler has myriad choices when it comes to a DH against the A’s. Does he get some extra swings for a player who could use the work? Take a veteran such as catcher Buster Posey or first baseman Brandon Belt off his feet defensively?
“I think at this point, we’re getting into that area where players who have not been playing as much — Darren Ruf, Donovan Solano, (Wilmer) Flores will give us an opportunity to give somebody who deserves to be playing back in the lineup,” Kapler said.
The A’s series will be the last time this season the Giants will employ a DH unless they play on the road in the World Series. They’ve played just five road games in American League parks — three games in Seattle to start the season, and two games in early June in Arlington against the Texas Rangers.
Giants designated hitters in those games were just 3-for-21 with a pair of walks and two RBIs — and Flores went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI in the opener.
Flores (2-for-10) has the most at-bats as a DH this season, followed by Tommy LaStella (1-for-3), Ruf (0-for-3), Jason Vosler (0-for-2), Andrew Slater (0for-2) and Alex Dickerson (0-for-1).
Considering the way Kapler has used the bench, he has several DH options at his disposal.
The player with the most experience in the role is third baseman Evan Longoria, who played 10 years with the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League and has 87 games as a DH with 16 home runs, 50 RBIs and a .235 batting average.
Next up is Posey, whom manager Bruce Bochy would occasionally use as a DH to save his legs from the rigors of catching. Posey has a .292 average, three home runs and 16 RBIs as a DH.
Flores has 29 games as a DH with seven home runs, 17 RBIs and a .219 batting average.
Dickerson, an average defender in left field, has just eight games as a DH and a .190 batting average but as a pinch-hitter has hit .263 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 95 at-bats.