SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The final week of Cactus League play is upon us and there are, by manager Bob Melvin’s estimation, at least two or three spots on the San Francisco Giants’ Opening Day roster that are yet to be decided.
“But,” he said, “I think by the time we leave with 26, we’re going to feel very good about our team going into the season.”
There’s optimism Keaton Winn can fill one hole in the rotation, but the fifth spot remains wide open. More injuries threw the bullpen battle into flux when the leading lefty, Ethan Small, strained his oblique. And the shortstop job that had Marco Luciano’s name on it? Well, Nick Ahmed has had something to say about that.
Starting tonight against the Reds, the Giants have seven games left before they leave Arizona another three exhibitions in Sacramento, San Francisco and Oakland before they must cut their roster — currently at 47 players — down to 26 for Opening Day next Thursday in San Diego.
Here’s a look at where things stand in the most-heated roster battles.
The No. 5 starter
The candidates: Mason Black, Blayne Enlow, Spencer Howard, Daulton Jefferies
Asked recently to evaluate the candidates for the fifth spot in the rotation, the first name to escape Melvin’s mouth was Black’s.
A drafted-and-developed 24-year-old right-hander, Black immediately became the front-runner for the job when doctors discovered an aneurysm in Tristan Beck’s throwing shoulder. In four appearances this spring, he hasn’t wowed, with a 6.97 ERA, but has shown an ability to rebound from rough innings.
Black is scheduled to throw five innings in a minor-league game Tuesday, on pace with the build-up of a member of the Opening Day rotation.
“He’s pitching well enough where we’re really trying to increase his workload,” Melvin said. “He’s had some good outings and he’s had some bad ones. You always look for a young guy to how he responds to a tough one. He seems to have done that.”
The other three candidates made convincing cases for themselves in their most recent outings, combining for 11 scoreless innings. Enlow’s came against a Dodgers lineup that featured Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman; Howard’s four innings were hitless; and Jefferies’ came in front of Melvin, who managed him in Oakland before his second Tommy John surgery.
With Winn likely to be limited to 75 pitches or so to begin the season and not a lot of experience behind Logan Webb, at least one of the runners-up in the rotation battle is likely to make the roster as a swingman out of the bullpen. Rising prospect Landen Roupp isn’t built up enough to be a consideration for the rotation, but his fastball-curveball combo could also make him an option for one of those spots.
The favorite: Black
Shortstop
The candidates: Nick Ahmed, Marco Luciano
Spring training lineups aren’t the be-all and end-all, but managers typically like to see how their puzzle pieces fit together, especially when there are newcomers who have to feel out how they will share the field and interact in a batting order.
Look no further than the Giants’ most-recent infield configurations for a clue as to who has the upper-hand in the shortstop battle. In the six games Matt Chapman has played at third base since signing, Ahmed has lined up alongside him at shortstop each time.
Safe to say, it hasn’t been the coronation for their 22-year-old top prospect that was anticipated at the start of camp.
With only two singles in 25 at-bats, a .080 batting average, Luciano seems likely to start the year at Triple-A Sacramento. Lest you forget, he logged only 18 games there last season before receiving the call to the majors.
Ahmed, a two-time Gold Glove winner, has impressed at the plate, most recently launching a 430-foot triple to straightaway center that raised his spring average to .500 and his OPS to 1.550, such a large number — in a sample size of only 20 at-bats, of course — that even Melvin undercounted when attempting to pay a compliment. (“He has like a 1.400 OPS,” he said. “Obviously he was ready when he came here.”)
In tandem with Chapman, Ahmed’s defense makes for a tantalizing left side of the infield for a ground-ball heavy pitching staff.
“Defense is going to be the priority,” Melvin said. “Just as long as his at-bats are good, which they are right now, he seems to be fitting in.”
The favorite: Ahmed
A second lefty reliever
The candidates: Amir Garrett, Erik Miller, Juan Sánchez
The five incumbents from last year’s bullpen — Camilo Doval, Tyler Rogers, Taylor Rogers, Luke Jackson and Ryan Walker — are locked in. As Melvin determines how he will divide the three remaining spots, he has made clear that a second southpaw is all but a nonnegotiable.
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That was already a strenuous ask at the start of spring, with only four left-handed relievers in camp to begin with. It’s only become trickier with one of the two already on the 40-man roster lost to an oblique injury and the other, Erik Miller, optioned to minor-league camp.
That leaves Garrett, 31, who has an 11.57 ERA in five appearances, and Sánchez, a 23-year-old who has made a name for himself this spring but only reached Triple-A in the second half of last season.
With nine strikeouts and a 2.57 ERA in six games this spring, Sánchez has clearly outperformed Garrett, but the seven-year veteran has 313 MLB appearances to his name and a preexisting relationship with pitching coach Bryan Price, who managed him in Cincinnati.
If the Giants opt to carry Black as their fifth starter, another non-roster bulk reliever in the bullpen and Ahmed as their shortstop, that’s already three spots on the 40-man roster that they will need to create. It’s possible that they determine it’s actually easier to recall Miller from the minors than to open another spot for Sánchez or Garrett.
The favorite: Sánchez