San Francisco Giants Spring Training Report: Position Battles, Other Notes

Backup Catcher’s Spot

Mar 6, 2015; Surprise, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher

against the Texas Rangers during a spring training baseball game at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Buster Posey is in exactly zero danger of losing his starter’s job, but behind him there is no security for either Andrew Susac or Hector Sanchez. Sanchez is the more experienced of the two, but Susac, in his short major league stint in 2014, showed a ton of potential.

Neither Sanchez nor Susac has stood out thus far in the Spring. In fact, the fourth catcher, Guillermo Quiroz, has stood out more than the two ahead of him. Quiroz is hitting .286 (2-7), with two RBI, and on Sunday, he absolutely crushed a home run off the Arizona Diamondbacks’ top Cuban signee Yoan Lopez. Despite that, Quiroz is an extreme longshot to make the Opening Day roster.

Sanchez is just one-for-six (.167) so far, and his lone hit, an RBI double, came to fruition because the defense lost the ball in the sun. Sanchez is also dealing with a bruised thumb, which forced him out of Sunday’s split-squad game, and will hold him away from action for a couple more days.

Susac has a .125 average (1-8), also including an RBI double. He’s also struck out three times. His defense has been better than Sanchez, and General Manager Brian Sabean has said this battle could come down to defense.

As of now, there is no true standout, but Susac does seem to have the edge, especially with Sanchez dealing with a bad thumb.

Next: Infield Jumble