San Francisco Giants need an All-Star: ‘Somebody is going to have to go’
SAN FRANCISCO — An attendance decline at Oracle Park isn’t the only way fans have expressed their disappointment in the Giants’ play this season.
After Major League Baseball revealed updated vote totals from the ballots that have been cast, it’s clear Giants players haven’t received much support in the polls this year.
Catcher Buster Posey was the only Giants starter to rank among the top 10 vote-getters at his position, but Posey is a distant eighth among catchers behind Cubs backstop Willson Contreras. Posey made his sixth All-Star team last season, but the injured catcher (right hamstring strain) has almost no chance of overcoming Contreras for a starting nod as the fourth-year Cubs veteran has already received 850,613 votes.
The 79,768 votes Posey has received lead all Giants position players, but it’s unlikely a hitter winds up as the lone representative for the club at this year’s Midsummer Classic.
All 30 teams must have at least one representative on an All-Star roster and after two-plus months of play, closer Will Smith appears to be the Giants’ leading candidate. Smith is 14-for-14 in save opportunities and has the full support of manager Bruce Bochy.
“I think you have to look at what he’s done, sure, Smitty has been right on every time out there,” Bochy said Tuesday. “He’s done a terrific job. There’s no doubt he’s going to get consideration.”
Smith owns a 2.19 ERA and has struck out 12.8 batters per nine innings, but outside of a sudden decline in Smith’s performance, there’s another issue the Giants could potentially face in finding an All-Star candidate.
Smith is one of the top relievers expected to be available on the trade market this summer and it’s possible the Giants would part ways with the left-hander before the July 9 All-Star Game.
Bochy also mentioned starters Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija as players he believes are worthy of recognition, but at this point, Smith is the obvious favorite to represent the Giants at Progressive Field in Cleveland this summer.
“Somebody is going to have to go from this club,” Bochy said. “I think (Smith) is the one guy, as much as anybody, you can look at.”
One former Giant is in position to potentially earn an All-Star nod as Texas Rangers designated hitter Hunter Pence, 36, has received 329,321 votes and trails only Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez among American League vote-getters at the position.
Pence has hit 13 home runs and owns a .902 OPS and would lead all Giants players in both categories. In the final season of Pence’s five-year, $90 million contract, the fan favorite hit four home runs and posted a .590 OPS.
Posey expected to return Wednesday
Bochy said the Giants hope to activate Posey from the 10-day injured list on Wednesday so he can start the series finale against the Padres.
Posey ran the bases and hit on Tuesday and Bochy said the training staff expected to know more about Posey’s availability by Wednesday morning. He’s missed two separate chunks of games in the last month as he was also placed on the seven-day concussion list in May after taking a foul ball off his mask in Cincinnati.
Belt out with sore neck
Giants first baseman Brandon Belt was scratched from Sunday’s lineup with a stomach illness, but Bochy planned to use Belt as a pinch hitter late in the game.
A plate appearance never materialized for Belt as he tweaked his neck while warming up in the Giants’ batting cage. Belt is out of the lineup on Tuesday but Bochy indicated he may be available to enter as a substitue.