Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE — The problem the Giants have at second base is becoming the type of problem people with too much money complain about. Which is to say, the Giants should not be be calling up teams without second basemen and grumbling.
Donovan Solano is expected to get the most looks at the position, but Wilmer Flores, also a righty hitter, will get plenty of second-base starts. Lefty Tommy La Stella should move around but see time at second, though both Solano and Flores have mounted some evidence they can hit righties, too.
Wednesday’s 7-6 win over the Cubs at Scottsdale Stadium represented a showcase for the Giants’ strongest and deepest position, which the club has tried to diversify by looking at Solano at third, too, and Flores at first and third.
Solano, who got the start at second, went 3-for-3 to improve his Cactus League average to .500 — all the guy does is hit — while Flores’ 2-for-3 day included a bomb over the left-field wall, his second homer of the spring.
“I think this is going to be a headache for the manager,” Solano said through translator Erwin Higueros, “because he’s the one that’s going to have to choose who he’s going to want to play on a certain day. I think that as a friendly competition, I’m happy that we all are playing because it means that on a given day, we’re going to contribute to a win for the team.”
The Giants employed a lineup that was a pretty close approximation of what it could be during the regular season, with Solano hitting third and Flores fourth, behind La Stella and Mike Yastrzemski. Through five innings, the Giants had six hits, all of which came from the Solano-Flores-La Stella triumvirate. The seventh was a sixth-inning home run by non-roster invite Jason Krizan, who, yes, plays some second.
Solano, a 33-year-old late bloomer, said he added muscle in the offseason and hopes to add some power to his game, which would be welcome for a player who has batted .328 with seven homers across 135 Giants games the last two seasons.
Flores’ approach at the plate has changed since he signed with the Giants after the 2019 season, no longer seeking contact and now hunting pitches to damage. He hit 12 home runs in 55 games last season after slamming nine in 89 games with Arizona the year prior.
His average, too, is .500 in the early going. He said he was sitting fastball off lefty Andrew Chafin in the fifth inning, then reversed that fastball and followed Solano around the bases.
“Both of those guys have just been completely dependable and drive the baseball consistently,” Gabe Kapler said over Zoom. “Donovan, in particular, has hit the ball on a line consistently, and Flores has driven the ball as often as anybody.”
Nearly as encouraging is the fact Kapler then complimented Flores’ work at third base, at which he struggled last year. After getting a couple starts for an injured Evan Longoria last year, Flores was kept away from the position because of wayward throws.
Longoria is battling plantar fasciitis again this spring, and while the Giants have options at third behind him, it would help the club if Flores can spell him.
Flores is “much improved from where we saw last year,” the manager said. “Flores’ throws are strong across the diamond, with good rotation and carry, and Solano has been solid with the glove as well.”
Because of injury, which in baseball is inevitable, there’s probably room for both Solano and Flores without a trade. If a team is going to have players who are redundant of each other, having those players be quality hitters is the way to do it.