San Francisco Giants: Conor Gillaspie Could Change Look of the Roster

As Spring Training draws closer, the late addition of Conor Gillaspie could change the look of the San Francisco Giants’ opening day roster.

Last week, the San Francisco Giants signed another familiar face, bringing back first-round draft pick from 2008, Conor Gillaspie, on a minor league contract with a Spring Training invitation. The Giants’ roster looked mostly set heading into the exhibition period, but the addition of Gillaspie could throw a wrench into those plans.

Manager Bruce Bochy and the Giants’ front office are very familiar with the now 28-year-old Gillaspie. He was the 37th overall pick in the 2008 draft, and that season made it to the big league roster after just six games with the Rookie League Arizona Giants and 18 games with the Low-A Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. After that season, Gillaspie wouldn’t make it back to the bigs until 2011, and played 21 games with the Giants between 2011 and 2012.

Gillaspie was traded to the Chicago White Sox before the 2013 season started, where he became a regular in the lineup. Over the next two seasons, Gillaspie played 264 games for Chicago, including 227 starts at third base, and batted .265/.322/.404 with 45 doubles, 20 home runs, and 97 runs batted in. He split the 2015 season between the White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels, and struggled to a .228/.269/.359 slash-line in 75 games.

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The Giants roster as it stood was lacking a legitimate backup third baseman with experience. Ehire Adrianza and Kelby Tomlinson, the two front runners for the backup infielders jobs, don’t have much in the way of pro experience at third base. Adrianza has played four games at the hot corner in the big leagues, one in the minor leagues, and 10 in the Venezuelan Winter League, while Tomlinson has nine minor league games and one Arizona Fall League game of experience. Non-roster invitees Junior Arias and Ryder Jones are both natural third basemen, but have yet to play above High-A ball.

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The team has made it known they don’t want to have Matt Duffy play every single day in 2016, like he did last season, although Duffy himself would say he’s good to go day in and day out. Beginning on May 25th, Duffy played in 117 straight games until the end of the season, including 115 games started, playing at one point through a slight ankle sprain. Unlike the other players who will be in Giants’ camp, Gillaspie gives the team a third baseman with a ton of major league experience at the position. Gillaspie has played 320 games at third base in the big leagues, more than the entire rest of the Giants’ Spring Training roster combined (Ramiro Pena – 137; Duffy – 136; Grant Green – 5; Adrianza – 4; George Kottaras – 1).

With Gillaspie on the roster, the Giants would be more inclined to give Duffy a day off, allowing him to rest every now and again, an opportunity he wasn’t allotted last season. He would also add a left-handed bat to the bench, joining Gregor Blanco as lefty substitute players. In addition, Gillaspie can play first base in case Brandon Belt‘s bad luck with injuries continue, and has minimal experience in the outfield if the various injury problems there continue, putting the Giants in a tight place.

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Gillaspie becomes another piece to the Giants bench, which emerging as a puzzle as Spring Training draws closer. There’s plenty of competition, but Gillaspie may just have an upper hand entering the exhibition season.