Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE — The Giants’ Plan A and perhaps Plan B at first base looked pretty appealing on Thursday night.
In his first start of the spring, Brandon Belt played four innings at first without incident and stroked a single to center in his third at-bat of the Cactus League season, providing a bit more hope that he could be ready April 1.
And if he’s not, the roster spot likely will go to LaMonte Wade Jr., who smashed a home run to right off lefty Brett Anderson that nearly cleared the Charro Lodge and would have been a Splash Hit at Oracle Park.
The Giants optioned Jason Vosler on Wednesday, leaving the lefty-hitting Wade, who also can move around the outfield, as a natural option to see time in Seattle to start the season, with Tommy La Stella also a lefty possibility at first. Unless Belt can somehow be ready in time.
“Every time I go out and I do something different, do something more than I did the day before, I gain more and more confidence, and today was no different,” Belt said in his second appearance of the exhibition league, one week before the regular season begins. “I have a lot of confidence that I can go out there, and my body’s going to hold up and my foot’s going to hold up.”
The foot is more the issue than the conditioning for Belt, who had heel surgery in October and then wasn’t able to build strength as he struggled with first the coronavirus and then mono.
He ran the bases Thursday, having to hustle to second and third before Wade’s homer drove him in.
“There’s no pain in my foot right now, it’s just my joints are pretty stiff from being in a boot for two months,” Belt said during the 2-2 tie with the Brewers at Scottsdale Stadium. “…It’s still a little stiff in there, but every time I do something like I did tonight and then I run around and do extra stuff, it feels better the next day.”
He has said he’s not sure whether he will be ready in time for the season opener, and it’s hard to envision his getting the at-bats that would make the Giants feel comfortable with throwing him in against major league pitching. Belt said that “within a couple weeks time” his foot should be fine.
And Wade, who has shown good plate discipline but struggled some with his bat, showed what he’s capable of.
But Kapler isn’t ready to say Belt will not get the green light. He had indicated previously Thursday that there’s a path he hadn’t foreseen a week ago to Belt starting the season with the team. Maybe that path just got a bit wider.
“Now we’re just getting volume built up,” the manager said, “and the fact he was able to get out there four innings was good.”
Mauricio Dubon may have made the play of Giants spring training, going up and catching an Avisail Garcia drive at the wall in right-center and robbing at least extra bases. He started the game at shortstop, and his versality is impressive.
Dominic Leone, a righty non-roster invite, struck out the side without allowing a baserunner. This spring he has pitched 7 2/3 innings with 13 strikeouts, six hits, two walks and three runs (one earned). He’s made a good run at a roster spot.
Righty prospect Matt Frisbee made his Cactus League debut, throwing a scoreless ninth with a strikeout while allowing just an excuse-me single to Daniel Vogelbach.
The Sacramento River Cats announced Sutter Health Park would be the home of the Giants’ alternate site. There will be scrimmages with the A’s satellite camp in Stockton.
Pending MLB approval, they will have fans seeing the exhibitions. An alternate site schedule for Sacramento will be released and available at rivercats.com.