Giants plan ahead, grow flexibility with spring lineup shifts
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Giants manager Gabe Kapler says his lineups aren’t necessarily indicative of what to anticipate once the season begins.
They aren’t drawn up just to get the frontliners ready at their regular positions, but largely to see what works and what doesn’t, an ongoing experiment to help determine the makeup of the Opening Night roster.
Why else would Jason Vosler start at second base Sunday, a day after he started in left field?
Vosler is a third baseman, after all.
“First and third are his best positions,” Kapler said. “He can play up the middle. We also see him as an outfield option. A really good versatile weapon for us. We’d like to get him as many looks as possible in camp, so we can evaluate him and so he can
continue to improve.”
We know Buster Posey will be the catcher, backed up by Curt Casali. We know Brandon Crawford will be the shortstop, Evan Longoria the third baseman.
Most every other position player is getting looks at more than one position, in some cases several positions, as auditions and evaluations continue for Kapler’s second season in San Francisco.
Outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. started at first base Sunday. Heliot Ramos, who has played all of his minorleague career in center, started in left.
“We want to create as many possible paths to our majorleague roster for our players,” Kapler said. “As a peripheral or side benefit, this also makes them more valuable for the rest of their careers.
“And finally, if a player can move around during the season, it gives us a better chance to win, deploy players in doubleswitch situations and the matchups with opposing pitchers. Really winwinwin.”
The shifting of Mauricio Dubón in 2020 showed that Kapler and the front office are open to trying players at positions they have not played. Dubón, a middle infielder by trade, wound up as the starting center fielder.
Vosler, a lefthanded batter without bigleague experience, was signed in November to possibly spell Longoria at third, but that role now belongs to Tommy La Stella, who was signed last month.
Though Vosler was the hottest hitter in the first week of exhibitions — a teamleading eight hits, four for extra bases — he might be hardpressed to make the seasonopening roster. He’s playing around the diamond, so he can fill in wherever and whenever needed.
“I’m not really trying to think about exactly where I fit on the team,” Vosler said. “If they want me to play multiple positions, that’s great. I would love that.”
Darin Ruf is a righthanded version of Vosler in that he can come off the bench and deliver a big hit. Ruf probably would benefit from having the designated hitter in the National League, but it appears traditional rules will return after the universal DH was in effect in 2020.
The Giants are a bit less flexible without that extra hitting spot in the lineup. It would have been a nice fit for several players, not just Ruf, who continues to get time at first and in left field.
“I’ve never been in a league where there has been a DH even with my time in Philadelphia, except in Korea,” said Ruf, who played five seasons with the Phillies and three with the Samsung Lions before joining the Giants in 2020. “I feel I can fill a role playing a position and helping the team on both sides of the ball.”
Kapler believes it, too. “He’s a dangerous atbat off the bench for us,” Kapler said. “We want to give him as many reps as we possibly can in spring training at both of those positions and at the plate to have the strongest case to make the roster.”
That’s what it’s all about. Ongoing tryouts in March to give Kapler and his staff the most flexibility in April and beyond. We might not see any form of these lineups once the season opens, but the more spots players fill in the spring, the more valuable and versatile they become in the summer.