ODD DAY DOESN’T INCLUDE POSEY
Giants captain is excused from first day of camp for personal reason
Buster Posey is the Giants’ clubhouse and onfield leader, but he wasn’t at Oracle Park on Friday for the first day of the team’s second preseason.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler announced that Posey was excused from camp to attend to a personal issue. Kapler said it’s not known when Posey will join the team in San Francisco.
Kapler did say that Posey tested negative for COVID-19. He also said that he’s not concerned that the possible future Hall of Fame catcher will be behind when he does arrive at camp, despite the regular season starting in less than three weeks.
“If he was behind by a day, if he’s behind by two days, the expectation is he’s not going to be behind by much,” Kapler said. “The other thing is if there’s anybody in our camp that knows how to prepare for a regular season ... knows how to be built up for the workload, has an arm stroke and
a body that can prepare quickly, it’s Buster.
“That being said when it comes to personal matters, we believe and I personally believe, that players can come back when the time is right for them. We prioritize their families, over all else.”
Posey’s absence leaves the Giants with three catchers in their 60-player pool, though Chadwick Tromp is in San Francisco and is expected to be formally added to the roster in the coming days. SAMARDZIJA SOUNDS OFF >>
The current expectation is that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, baseball fans won’t be allowed into the ballpark for the 60-game regular season that will start in a few weeks.
But Giants pitcher Jeff Samardjiza isn’t so sure about that.
“I think there’s going to be fans in the stands,” he said. “I think we’ve seen with these owners, they’re not scared of anything . ... They’re not scared to put anyone at risk if they get the opportunity to, especially if it makes them money.”
Samardzija’s comment underscores the bad blood between players and owners after weeks of contentious labor negotiations to get the season started.
His prediction of fans being in the stands isn’t off-base. While such a scenario seems unlikely in California, Houston Astros owner Jim Crane said last month that he expects to allow fans into home games this year, and he made no bones about why: It will recoup some of the revenue lost in a shortened season.
“That’s the way it’s going to be. The owners have already said that’s what they want,” Samardzija said. “But to the fans: I just want them to be safe, too. If that means they have to watch us from home, so be it.”
If experience in pitching in empty ballparks is any factor, Samardzija has a leg-up on almost everyone.
In 2015, following the death of a Baltimore man in police custody — his name was Freddy Gray — protests forced the Orioles to play a game against the Chicago White Sox behind closed doors. Samardzija was the starting pitcher for the White Sox.
“For one game of the season, I’m gonna have a huge advantage of playing in front of no fans before,” Samardzija said. “So I’m excited about that. And we’ll take full advantage of that.” Then again, the experience for Samardzija wasn’t good. He gave up seven earned runs in five innings. ANOTHER POSITIVE TEST >> Luis Madero, a 23-year-old pitcher, is the second Giants player known to have contracted the virus. Prospect Hunter Bishop — the No. 10 pick in the 2019 MLB Draft — tested positive last week.
Madero was claimed off waivers by the Giants in January. He’s yet to pitch in the major leagues. Last season, at Double-A Mobile, he posted a 5.72 ERA in 20 games (19 starts).
Major League Baseball announced Friday that 31 players and seven staff members of 3,185 tested positive for COVID-19 in the league’s first round of mass testing — a 1.2 percent positive rate.
Kapler said the Giants plan on announcing all positive COVID-19 tests, unless the player does not want that information to become public. Some teams have decided to not reveal positive tests to the public.
“We’ve told our players that we’re going to announce a positive test. If they give us permission,” Kapler said. “It’s really up to them and we are going to respect their privacy. If they decline to have it announced, we’re not going to do it on their behalf.”
TOP PICK ADDED TO POOL >>
The Giants added catcher Patrick Bailey, their first-round draft pick, to the player pool Friday and brought him to camp.
Bailey, 21, will be among a handful of top prospects in camp, joining catcher Joey Bart, outfielder Heliot Ramos and 18-year-old shortstop Marco Luciano.