Baseball, get your fresh hot baseball updates.
Spring Training is well underway, and while the San Francisco Giants are currently cosplaying as their 2023 selves, with four runs and zero wins in two preseason games, it’s still just happy happy happy that baseball is back.
Not a lot happened over the weekend, save for the two games — an 8-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs and a 0-0 tie against the Texas Rangers. But there are at least a few updates to get to.
Let’s start with the slightly confusing Dodger stank. According to The Athletic, utility player Kiké Hernández is choosing between four teams, and the Giants are one of them. If you squint, you can see the reason for the team’s interest. He’s a proven veteran who plays all over the infield and the outfield.
If you don’t squint, however, the Giants’ interest is … confusing, to put it lightly. Hernández was, quite literally, one of the worst defensive players in the Majors last year, and unless San Francisco thinks that’s fixable, he shouldn’t see an inning at shortstop, where the Giants are looking for a backup. And for a bat over glove player, it’s been a while since Hernández actually hit well. He’s hit better than league average just once in the last five years (a modest 109 wRC+ in 2021), and his 74 mark in 2022 and 72 mark in 2023 are right in line with the year’s that Mitch Haniger and Wade Meckler had last year.
Perhaps the Giants are just looking at a Minor League deal to see if he has a rebound in him to compete with Tyler Fitzgerald, Casey Schmitt, Brett Wisely, and Otto López? I dunno. It’s odd.
In less odd news, Marco Luciano and Jorge Soler are expected to make their season debuts today! And Mason Black will be the starting pitcher! And you can watch it on MLB TV at 12:05 p.m. PT! Unfortunately, Tuesday’s game will not be televised, but Jung Hoo Lee is expected to make his Giants debut then, as will Jordan Hicks.
Speaking of exciting pitchers…
New Giants catcher Tom Murphy on Kyle Harrison: “Man, he was explosive today. I feel like every guy up there was saying they felt like they had no chance against his fastball. He could have thrown that every pitch.”
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) February 25, 2024
That came after Kyle Harrison made his debut on Sunday, and struck out four batters in two innings. The only baserunner he allowed came on a hit by pitch.
And we have very good news on the injury front! After being briefly shut down to elbow soreness — always a scary thing for a pitcher — Keaton Winn has been cleared to resume throwing starting today. He was optimistic that he’ll have enough time to get to 70 or 80 pitches before Opening Day.
It is notable that Black is starting Monday’s game. With Logan Webb starting Saturday, Harrison on Sunday, and Hicks on Tuesday, it seems like Bob Melvin is at least starting to give hints as to what he expects the rotation to look like. And NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic writes that the team believes Black is “just about ready for his big league debut.”
Also, we got some clarity on the Jon Heyman “report” that J.D. Martinez didn’t want to play for the Giants. Pavlovic cleared things up by saying that Martinez’s camp simply had a counteroffer that the Giants were not willing to pay. That report was backed up by specifics from Mark Feinsand.
Prior to signing Jorge Soler to a three-year, $42 million contract, the Giants offered J.D. Martinez a one-year, $14 million deal, per sources. Martinez was seeking $20 million, and while he might have been willing to accept a little less, he declined the Giants’ offer.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 25, 2024
And in Giants-adjacent news, the first of the Boras Four has signed, as Cody Bellinger is returning to the Cubs for three years and $80 million, with opt-outs after the first and second years. The Giants were never particularly linked to Bellinger, but hopefully this means that Matt Chapman, Blake Snell, and Jordan Montgomery will end their free agencies soon, too.
Now, onto the important stuff…
How many days until Opening Day?
Just 31!!!