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San Francisco Giants Make Cuts, but Battles Remain a Mystery

By Sean Bialaszek

Mar 13, 2017; Surprise, AZ, USA; General view of fans sitting in the grass picnic seating in the outfield during the Texas Rangers game against the San Francisco Giants during a Cactus League spring training game at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2017; Surprise, AZ, USA; General view of fans sitting in the grass picnic seating in the outfield during the Texas Rangers game against the San Francisco Giants during a Cactus League spring training game at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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The San Francisco Giants made a bunch of roster moves Monday night, but what the outer edges of the opening day roster will look like remains a mystery.

After Monday night’s loss to the Texas Rangers, the San Francisco Giants made a big group of cuts as they continue to whittle down the roster with opening day just a couple weeks away.  Right-handed pitchers Kyle Crick, Chase Johnson, Ian Gardeck, Reyes Moronta, and Dan Slania, as well as infielder Miguel Gomez were optioned to minor league camp. Outfielders Wynton Bernard, Austin Slater, and Steven Duggar, catchers Aramis Garcia and Matt Winn, and infielder Ryder Jones were all reassigned.

Just to clear up any confusion or questions, players on the 40-man roster are optioned, while non-roster invitees are re-assigned.

Minor league camp games are starting later this week, so these players, many of whom didn’t get to play very much with the big league squad, will get more a chance to show their stuff in front of the organizational coaches.

The roster in big league camp is down to 48 players:

While the roster is getting a bit thinner, none of these moves cleared up the confusion with the roster battles taking place. The glut of infielders, competing for what is essentially one job, is still around, and there are quite a few guys still trying to sneak their way into the bullpen. A group of right-handed hitters are also trying to find a spot on the bench as a pinch-hitting threat and spot-starter in the outfield.

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The two players competing to be starting left fielder are still in camp as well, though a move there certainly shouldn’t have been expected this early in spring.

Some of the players that were cut today, like Bernard and Slater, had an outside shot (very, very outside shot) of cracking the roster, but they weren’t really in consideration.

All the veteran infielders, Jimmy Rollins, Aaron Hill, Conor Gillaspie and Gordon Beckham, are still around, along with their less-experienced counterparts Kelby Tomlinson, Jae-gyun Hwang, and Orlando Calixte. Gillaspie has a spot on the bench pretty much locked up, leaving one spot for this group. Despite playing well the past two seasons, Tomlinson has minor league options remaining, leaving him at a natural disadvantage. Hill has had a nice spring to this point, which may make him the frontrunner for the bench job as of right now.

Though there aren’t many “open” jobs in the bullpen, pitchers like Neil Ramirez, David Hernandez, Jose Dominguez, and Bryan Morris are trying to prove themselves to be valuable pieces that the Giants can use. Lefties Steven Okert and Josh Osich are battling to be the second southpaw in the ‘pen next to Will Smith (who, according to Carl Steward, threw a live bullpen session on Monday and will make his first Cactus League appearance later this week after battling a tender elbow). Both pitchers have options, leaving it up to the best man for the job. So far, the best man has been Okert.

Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson are still vying for the starting left field job, and still have a long way to go to prove themselves. There is no clear winner yet, though Williamson, like Tomlinson, has minor league options working against him.

Kyle Blanks was reassigned last week, so that leaves Justin Ruggiano, Michael Morse, and Chris Marrero trying to force their way onto the roster as power threats. It won’t be easy to get any of the three on the opening day squad, but Marrero has been a threat all spring while Morse has been playing much better lately. Ruggiano got off to a cold start and hasn’t heated up, so his chances remain slim.

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So all these moves were made, but no questions were answered. With a little under three weeks left to go in Spring Training, those questions will remained unanswered for a while longer.

The Giants are also keeping their top two prospects in camp, Christian Arroyo and Tyler Beede, around to get a good look at them against big leaguers and fellow big league hopefuls.

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