Villar is still expected to receive regular playing time at third base, but Kapler said Flores had “earned the right to be in the middle of our lineup … from my perspective and the perspective of a lot of people in our clubhouse. MLB officials: Players utilizing IL for mental health struggles a sign that the system is working “On a day like today, it really pays to be easy going.” Related Articles
“I think Roberto is a calming presence behind the plate,” Kapler said of the 34-year-old veteran who earned a roster spot after entering spring on a minor-league deal.
Those decisions, Kapler said, reflected the magnitude of Opening Day more than their feelings about any particular player. It wasn’t just the makeup of the Opening Day roster that raised eyebrows but how their lineup was configured Thursday against the Yankees, too.Īt third base, it wasn’t David Villar, who was proclaimed the “incumbent” starter, but Wilmer Flores.Īnd behind the plate, it was Roberto Pérez, not last year’s starter, Joey Bart. What the Opening Day roster is isn’t necessarily what the roster is five days from now.” Opening Day lineup decisions So we just decided a position player who can pinch run for us, run around the outfield and play the infield made the most sense for right now. “It doesn’t look like we’re going to be particularly taxed. “I walked through with Hjelle our pitching landscape,” Kapler said.
#WILL BRYCE JOHNSON PLAY SERIES#
Ultimately, with two off days in the first two series of the season, the Giants decided to carry only 12 pitchers with 14 position players. In six spring appearances, Hjelle limited opponents to three runs over 17 innings with a 22:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The message was similar to Hjelle, who added 15 pounds of muscle over the offseason and saw the payoff this spring with his fastball consistently sitting in the mid-90s. … He understands that he’s going to make an impact on our roster this year. “We got to the end and he wasn’t right for Opening Day, necessarily, but could be right at another time pretty soon. “He made every possible push to be on our Opening Day roster,” Kapler said. Kapler said that he told Johnson that he factored into the Giants’ plans this year, just not on Opening Day. 310 (13-for-42) and had drawn seven walks to 12 strikeouts.
Johnson, 27, stole more bases (12) than anybody in the Cactus or Grapefruit Leagues while playing a strong center field and showing off an ability to get himself on base via the bunt. The decisions to leave Johnson and Hjelle off the roster came as surprise, given the kind words both garnered from Kapler and Giants president Farhan Zaidi in the final days of camp. Until Austin Slater (hamstring) or Mitch Haniger (oblique) returns, or Johnson (a switch-hitter) is called up, the Giants will be entirely left-handed in their outfield. While Wisely played some outfield in the minors, he only began playing center this spring, with mixed results. They also flew Hjelle to New York and will know more about his ultimate destination depending on how their pitching shakes out Thursday.īy opting for Beaty, who mostly plays first and third base and left field, over Johnson left the Giants with Wisely as their only backup to Mike Yastrzemski in center field. Their final roster decision - adding Wisely - came three hours before the noon local time deadline to finalize their group of 26 they would take into the regular season. Another top performer from camp, right-hander Sean Hjelle, was also left off the Opening Day roster. The club acquired corner infielder/outfielder Matt Beaty from Kansas City for cash, which stole a roster spot from Bryce Johnson, whose stolen bases made him one of the Giants’ spring standouts. What a crazy ride.”Ī crazy ride could sum up the final 24 hours before the Giants finalized their Opening Day roster prior to Thursday’s season opener. But they’re going to try to get on a flight soon. “They all canceled all their flights,” Wisely said. They were scheduled to fly to New York, until Wisely informed them of the unfortunate news Wednesday night. His Florida-based family wasn’t able to pivot so quickly. Half an hour later, Wisely was on the team bus en route to Yankee Stadium for his major-league debut. He had just woken up the following morning when he got another call. NEW YORK - Brett Wisely was enjoying dinner Wednesday night in Manhattan when Gabe Kapler called to tell him there wasn’t a spot on the Giants’ Opening Day roster.
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