Buster Posey’s return highlights Giants’ win over Dodgers
SF Giants catcher Buster Posey returned to the lineup Sunday against the Dodgers.
In a game that featured home runs from Evan Longoria and Mike Yastrzemski and a grand slam from Chadwick Tromp, the most significant development for the Giants was Buster Posey’s return to the lineup.
After missing the last six games with right hip tightness, Posey went 0-for-2 and caught four innings in a 10-4 win over the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch Sunday.
“I felt good today, it was nice to go through those innings and a couple of at-bats and not have any issues,” Posey said. “It had just gotten tight on me. I think it’s pretty common with something like this where the muscles get tight and when that happens, the hip joint doesn’t move as well as it should.”
Despite the fact Posey had hip surgery to repair his labrum in 2018, neither the catcher nor Giants manager Gabe Kapler have long-term concerns about Posey’s health. Posey was asked Sunday if he had a target number of games he hoped to play in this season and while he said decisions on playing time would be left up to Kapler and his staff, his goal is to be in the lineup “as much as possible.”
Posey entered the spring hoping to get between 40-to-60 at-bats before the regular season begins, but with a week left in Cactus League play, he’s only 3-for-14 with four walks. Kapler said the Giants don’t have any “hard and fast rules” about ensuring Posey catches nine innings on back-to-back days before the season starts, but his spring workload could increase in the coming days.
“We’re confident that his timing is going to be just fine and it’s not going to take him long to get up to speed with any of our pitchers,” Kapler said.
Starter Scott Kazmir, who gave up two runs in three innings against his former team, commended Posey’s defense and detailed why the Giants believe he’s so valuable behind the plate.
“He’s awesome, he’s everything that is advertised, that’s for sure,” Kazmir said. “His presence out there, his conviction, with everything he does behind the plate, you feel really comfortable out there.”
The Giants’ catching depth looks dramatically different with Posey behind the plate after he chose to sit out last season. With veteran Curt Casali in the fold on one-year deal, the Giants are entering the year with far more stability than they had in 2020, when longtime minor league journeymen Tyler Heineman and Rob Brantly were the only catchers on the Opening Day roster.
The lack of experience compelled the Giants to promote Joey Bart to the major leagues in August, but the organization is convinced both Bart and Tromp will benefit from developing with more repetitions in the minors at the beginning of this season.