Infield leaves little to the imagination

At the risk of flogging a dead horse (who does that?), we’ve yet to finish our trip through a roster that isn’t. Starting pitchers, relievers and even the outfield have undergone the intense scrutiny of a web site that has no more clue than the average fan but clearly much more free time.

No one gets a pass. Infielders, you’re up.

There’s probably nowhere on the diamond where the lack of drama at Giants Spring Training is more evident that around the horn.  It’s not much fodder for writers and bloggers, but it has to make the team’s three-headed brain trust of Bruce Bochy, Bobby Evans and Brian Sabean a trio of happy men. In fact, the Giants are so sure of themselves that the current 25-man roster, a pretty good indicator of who might break camp with the big club, only lists six infielders.

A year ago, San Francisco found itself banking on a second baseman who had shone brightly in an abbreviated rookie campaign but was unproven over a full season, and on the hope it could replace a popular all-star third baseman and World Series MVP with a guy who had faltered but might have discovered the fountain of youth.

 

Panik as we like him: laying out, not laid out

As it turns out, Joe Panik is every bit the player we’d hoped. He helped the Giants to a title in 2014 and was a 2015 all-star, but he also proved that not even the youngsters are immune to injury. 

Panik exceeded modest expectations (Dan Uggla and Brandon Hicks got a shot before Panik did, and I think Joe Strain hung up on them), batting .309 over 610 Major League at-bats. He knows the strike zone (.364 OBP) and is notoriously hard to strike out. But like much of the core, an injury limited him to spectator status in the second half.

Panik is supposedly fully recovered, but Giants fans can be forgiven if they’re a bit nervous about a guy with back issues.  Freddy Sanchez, Mark Derosa, Edgardo Alfonso and Marco Scutaro have all succumbed to similar ailments just since Hal dissed Dave and refused to open the pod bay door.

The one positive was that Kelby Tomlinson got a chance to play, and he appears to be a keeper. The Giants have him listed as Panik’s primary back-up, and his .303 average was garnered over 178 ABs. He looks to be ready for the show.

 

Duffy the Dirt Bag (Hey, Long Beach State, Man!)

Across the diamond the Giants found their answer by accident. Casey McGehee was an unmitigated disaster before giving way to MattDuffy in May. He amassed over 570 trips to the plate and both hit (.295) and fielded well enough to finish second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Cubs slugger Kris Bryant, and it’s possible to argue Duffy got jobbed.

Bryant.  'Ugh, me mash. Hit many balls very far. They stay hit'. He's a slugger. Duffy does everything else and can still provide a bit of pop.

The word no one wants to hear murmured around these two is “regression”. Panik hasn't played a full season, and last year was Duffy’s first; not exactly a long track record for either.  Yet hope springs eternal, and it’s justified.

Panik was on a 200-hit pace before he got hurt. Duffy hit .300 from May through August while going to the post in 118 straight games; currently the longest streak in the NL. Despite little time to come up for air he still hit .267 in a final month when the team around him was crumbling.

 

Crawford extends...and extended

The other two spots are locked. Shortstop Brandon Crawford got the big extension in the off-season. Not that he did anything spectacular, just being the first Giant to win a Silver Slugger and Glove Glove in the same season since some guy named Bonds back in 1997. It’s hard to imagine repeating his 21-home run effort but his power numbers have gone up in each of his five seasons while he maintained a solid .250 average. Don’t look for him in the cleanup spot, but batting seventh or eighth he’s downright scary – especially on days when Madison Bumgarner hits behind him.

The enigma that is Ehire Adrianza backs him up on the depth chart. Aside from being an announcer’s nightmare (Vin Scully has called him everything but ‘Mother’), he’s a wildcard. He didn’t figure into the Giants’ plans a year ago but injuries forced him out of the minors and into 113 ABs. His .186 average was a good argument for pitchers hitting eighth. Given that Tomlinson can also play short and third and is essentially a better Adrianza, he’s the most-likely guy on “the 25” to be sent packing.

At first base, San Francisco showed it’s hand when it settled on a $6.2 million deal in the hour before Brandon Belt’s scheduled arbitration hearing; followed by GM Evans stating his intent to extend Belt’s tenure.

 

Belt belts one

Despite Belt's status as a home-grown fan favorite, the desire to lock him up seems a bit odd. Granted, he’s by far the best option as long as Buster Posey stays behind the plate, but Posey’s “rest” days usually entail keeping his bat in the line-up and leaving Belt as the odd-man out. Having multiple years shortened by injury doesn’t help Belt’s cause.

But Posey shows no signs of slowing down as the full-time catcher and has made it abundantly clear that he wants to stay behind the dish as long as humanly possible. Belt may still have room to improve, especially if his health holds up. If a deal is reached, it will have to fit in that sweet spot where the Giants buy out a couple of years of free agency but still leave the door open for Posey’s eventual move.

Also to Belt’s advantage, the Giants don’t have anyone else. Posey is the only listed back-up, leaving 29-year-old journeyman Kyle Blanks as the most likely candidate to crack the Giants bench.

Make-up of the infield is not a big story, but at least we’re not talking about how fat Pablo Sandoval is.