Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Nick Tropeano knew the possibility was there — anyone on a minor league deal in spring training understands a roster spot is not guaranteed.
Still, it’s not an easy conversation when a 30-year-old who had a strong camp and had been in the majors for five seasons is informed he will be reporting to Triple-A.
“This game tries to knock you down in every way possible, and it’s just about getting back up and just keep chasing your dream and keep that fire,” Tropeano said on a phone call Tuesday. “That’s really what it came down to. That’s every minor leaguer’s mindset. … No one wants to play in the minor leagues.”
Yet, the newest member of the Giants’ staff did through about seven weeks of alternate site and Triple-A time. He had been told it was a roster crunch — the Giants did not add any non-roster invite to the 40-man out of camp, instead preserving their depth in the minors and giving the first shots to players already on the roster.
It was a “tough pill to swallow,” but he also had to build up. He had not thrown more than two innings at a time in the Cactus League, and the Giants wanted him available as starter insurance, too. It was a slow stretching-out process in which he hit five innings and 88 pitches May 13 before the Logan Webb injury and the Giants’ righty relief depth prompted his call-up last week.
Tropeano, with 51 lifetime big-league appearances, is now back and competing for a spot. Or maybe competing for a few spots. He can do some of everything and already has been used in one- or two-inning looks. He has the capability to go longer, and if Scott Kazmir had struggled Saturday, Tropeano would be a stronger candidate for a start this weekend.
“I’d consider myself the Swiss Army knife,” said Tropeano, who started with the Angels earlier in his career before thriving out of Pittsburgh’s bullpen last year. “If they need me to start, if they need long relief, they need short relief — I’m willing to do any one and capable of doing any one.”
His first two appearances, in which he’s been charged with one earned run in three innings, have shown that he is continuing to do what he did as a Pirates reliever: upping the percentages of his non-fastballs, a trend around the Giants. He has thrown his slider more than any pitch, which was devastating last year as at-bats ending in his slider held opponents to an .077 batting average in 15 2/3 innings. He had been playing with his pitch usages at the Yankees’ alternate site in 2020, was eventually DFA’d and picked up by the Pirates.
He believes he found himself with the new pitch mix.
“I feel just as good [as last year]. I just need to get my feet wet even more and get acclimated with the catchers up here,” Tropeano said. “Just trying to carry the momentum that I brought from last year and try to keep it going.”
The Giants went through the first month-plus of the season with rotation injuries that were timed in a way that six starters continually took turns, and they did not need either a spot-start or a long man out of the bullpen. That changed when both Webb and Aaron Sanchez went down.
The Giants’ bullpen went the first month-plus of the season in search of a reliable righty behind Tyler Rogers. Perhaps Zack Littell has locked down one spot, but there are more because of the struggles of Matt Wisler and the now-sent-down Camilo Doval.
Within these two groups, there are a few chances for Tropeano to find his niche.
“I don’t think we’ve defined a need for him, and I don’t think we really need to right now,” Gabe Kapler said Tuesday. “I think it’s really nice that he’s flexible and can take on multiple roles.”
