Caleb Baragar. Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
LOS ANGELES — The season will be tenuous. There will be COVID-19 concerns and ethical dilemmas and illnesses, and there are no guarantees the 2020 campaign will have a true end.
It will have a beginning, though, and the Giants now have a roster.
President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi & Co. put together the Giants’ 30 names for Thursday’s opener in Los Angeles, where Tyler Heineman figures to get the start at catcher against Clayton Kershaw. Buster Posey’s replacement was among the camp battles that now has a winner.
— Heineman and Rob Brantly both made the roster, but due in part to Chadwick Tromp’s health. The righty bat had made a big push, homering three times in intrasquad play, but earlier this week he suffered hamstring tightness, Zaidi said on a Zoom.
Tromp did not travel to Los Angeles or satellite-camp Sacramento, instead rehabbing in San Francisco, and could be a roster addition soon.
The 25-year-old “had worked his way into really good position to make the Opening Day roster,” Zaidi said. “So I know that’s disappointing for him, but we’re hopeful that it’ll just be a few days.”
— The Giants’ three-man taxi squad only contained two names (Steven Duggar and Andrew Suarez) and not a catcher, which they will need.
“We’re certainly looking to add a catcher,” Zaidi said, with Joey Bart and Patrick Bailey in Sacramento, with perhaps another catcher on the way. “That’s been a conversation that we’ve been having for some time is the need to have at least three catchers in Sacramento, as well as carrying two and potentially somebody who’s going to be on the taxi squad with us.”
— The biggest surprise of the 30-man crew was Caleb Baragar, a lefty who spent most of his 2019 as a Double-A Richmond starter. He was not invited to major league camp 1.0, but his emergence in camp 2.0 “made it actually a pretty easy decision to put him on our team,” Zaidi said.
Baragar has posted his impressive Rapsodo (performance measurement) numbers and has been “showing better velocity and some pretty interesting fastball characteristics,” Zaidi added.
The Giants were wary they could lose him in the Rule 5 Draft after not protecting him, but he was not chosen and now has been chosen by the Giants.
— Outfielder Joe McCarthy also was a somewhat surprising inclusion, breaking his way through by learning another position. The 26-year-old, still awaiting his MLB debut, has been playing first base in the wake of Brandon Belt’s injury, another lefty bat to platoon.
Zaidi said they’re comfortable with him manning the position.
“He’s had a lot of experience over there as an amateur and a certain amount in pro ball,” Zaidi said.
— Back stiffness kept Yolmer Sanchez from making the cut.
The middle infielder hailed for his glove and a bat who’s a project for the new hitting minds is “day to day,” Zaidi said, anticipating Sanchez will go for a short rehab stint in Sacramento. They want him to be able to play back-to-back games before he becomes an option for the roster, which would require the Giants creating 40-man roster space.
— Nearly forgotten is Opening Day will be Game One for Gabe Kapler.
“That’s weird to say because it feels like he’s been in this role for like five years now with everything that’s happened,” Zaidi said. “But I know he’s looking forward to it. He’s really worked pretty tirelessly since getting the job, connecting with people in different parts of the organization, communicating with players, developing relationships with you [media], which he understands how important that is. So, I’m happy for him that he gets to manage a regular-season baseball game.”