The football season is over, and that means one thing: It's time for baseball! San Francsico Giants pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training this week, and the games will be underway about a week after that. At this point in spring, it's worth taking an initial crack at the SF Giants' Opening Day roster.
There's one position that is very unsettled and opinions about it may even be controversial. Joey Bart was the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2018, but his time in the majors has been largely disappointing thus far. Bart struggled with strikeouts in 2022, so much so that he was sent down after a couple of months last year. When Bart was called back up, he appeared to have made significant progress in the contact department. However, he was back to his high strikeout ways again by the end of the year. So the hot take is that Bart starts the year in the Minors and Roberto Pérez and Blake Sabol (a Rule 5 pick who must make the roster or be offered back to the Pirates) crack the Opening Day roster instead.
The Giants also have some instability at first and third. LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores figure to platoon at first, and David Villar projects to get a real opportunity to start the season as the starting third baseman. Thairo Estrada and Brandon Crawford figure to be near-everyday options up the middle.
In the outfield, newcomers Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto are projected to man the corners pretty much every day, with Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater patrolling center. Joc Pederson and J.D. Davis figure to platoon at the DH spot. The Giants' defense appears improved to the point of being at least about average, which would be a big upgrade over last year's disaster. And they figure to have above-average offense up and down their lineup, with the exception of perhaps the catcher position.
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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.
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