After cuts, pitching staff comes into sharper focus
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Half-packed duffel bags and boxes made a cluttered mess of the San Francisco Giants’ clubhouse at Scottsdale Stadium on the final day of Cactus League play. Lined up at nearly every locker next to suitcases was a pair of cowboy boots and players dressed in their travel-day best.
With Bob Melvin at the helm, it is preferred that teammates ditch the casual wear when traveling to nicer hotels. Players who remain in camp even called their own meeting about the soft dress code.
“We want to be professional. So no shorts or flip flops,” Melvin said. “We’re not bankers, we don’t have to wear suits. When we get off the plane and get checked into a nice hotel, sweatsuits aren’t something, really, I’d like to see.”
The Giants have a fair bit of travel on the docket, first traveling to Sacramento for an exhibition against the River Cats on Sunday, then a pit stop in the Bay Area for the exhibition Bay Bridge series before heading to Southern California to open the regular season against the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.
A few roster decisions have to be made before that trip to San Diego for Thursday’s opener. The front office further chiseled the roster by reassigning right-handed starters Spencer Howard and Blayne Enlow to minor-league camp.
That leaves Daulton Jefferies, Landen Roupp and Mason Black as the frontrunners to land spots on the Opening Day roster with opportunities to start while recently signed lefthander Blake Snell ramps
up.
Jefferies, enjoying a renaissance after his second Tommy John surgery last year, has a 1.64 ERA with 11 strikeouts and two walks over 11 innings this spring. Roupp, a top pitching prospect, is holding opposing hitters to a .125 average in eight innings. Black, Sunday’s starting pitcher in Sacramento, had a 6.97 ERA this spring entering that contest.
Jordan Hicks is slated to start Monday’s game in Oakland, and Tuesday’s starter at Oracle Park is to be determined. Logan Webb, Kyle Harrison and Hicks are in line to pitch the first three games of the Padres series.
Snell was scheduled to start a minor-league game on Sunday and will pitch another on Friday in Arizona, Melvin said. He could be in line for the final game of the Dodgers series finale on April 3, but Melvin wouldn’t commit that far ahead.
“He’s got to be comfortable and we have to get X amount of pitches in,” Melvin said. “So there’s a
little bit left before we make that decision about pitching against L.A.”
Bart still here: Catcher Joey Bart left Friday’s game with hamstring tightness later determined to be a cramp, which should keep Bart off the injured list.
The odds the Giants will carry three catchers — Patrick Bailey, Tom Murphy and Bart — are slim. Given Bart’s standout spring — he was hitting .385 through Saturday — the alternative is bitter.
The 2018 first-round pick once deemed Buster Posey’s heir is out of minor-league options and, therefore, will have to be placed on waivers if he doesn’t make the active roster.
One of a handful of teams in need of a backup catcher would surely scoop Bart up off waivers.
Slater update: Outfielder Austin Slater had a setback on his surgically repaired right elbow, but he is feeling better and penciled in as the designated hitter in the Sacramento
game.
Slater, 31, had surgery on Oct. 11 and expressed concern about his ability to bounce back physically after games this spring. The pain limited him to 16 plate appearances in Cactus League play.
If Slater isn’t regularseason ready, Luis Matos has played himself into a big-league job as the fourth outfielder.
Saturday's game: Harrison had mixed results in his outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the Giants’ 11-5 loss, he had six strikeouts, but struggled to locate consistently. He walked four and allowed four runs in 31⁄3 innings.
Meanwhile, shortstop Marco Luciano’s loud home run that hit the middle of the Scottsdale Stadium scoreboard may wind up the highlight of spring. Without Statcast’s exact measurements, a rough estimate is that Luciano hit the ball at least 430 feet.