Why SF Giants opted to keep Wilmer Flores over J.D. Davis: ‘One of our most important players’

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — When the Giants’ offseason-long pursuit of Matt Chapman finally culminated in a contract midway through spring training, it didn’t take an astute observer to see the positional logjam on the depth chart.

There was no way the Giants could use up three spots of their 26-man roster on right-handed hitting corner infielders. Either Wilmer Flores or J.D. Davis had to go. And yet, despite their similar positional profiles, there was never any question who would be the sacrificial lamb.

“That’s not a discredit to J.D.,” the team’s top decision-maker, Farhan Zaidi, said after waiving and releasing Davis. “But Wilmer is probably one of our most important players. I would put him in our handful of most important players, just because of his leadership and his ability to adapt to a role.”

Also working in Flores’ favor was the fact that his $6.5 million salary was fully guaranteed, whereas Davis will collect only a fraction of the $6.9 million owed to him through a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement. The Giants saved approximately $5.8 million by releasing Davis, and an extra $500,000 by doing it 17 days before Opening Day, instead of within 15.

But, Zaidi explained, there were reasons beyond the financial implications.

“Besides the fact that (Flores) is a really important leader in our clubhouse and carries a lot of weight as he should, he brings a lot of value in his ability to adjust to his role changing over the course of the season,” Zaidi said. “He may go through stretches where he’s in the lineup everyday for two or three weeks in a row, then he might go through a two- or three-week period where he may only get a handful of starts and he’s coming off the bench.

“That’s something Wilmer has done throughout his career. He’s really, really good at it. I think he’s one of the best pinch-hitters in the game. And even our hitting coaches will talk about how he’s kind of ready for anything. I think we’ve all seen how effective he can be coming off the bench in big spots.”

In 187 pinch-hit plate appearances, Flores is a .244 hitter with nine home runs, including three in the eighth inning or later since joining the Giants in 2020. Last year, the league-average pinch hitter had a .660 OPS, compared to Flores’ career mark of .818.

Despite beginning last season as a part-time player, by the end of the year, Flores was the Giants’ best hitter. He led the team in home runs (23) and OPS (.864) and drove in more runs (60) than anybody but Davis, despite only receiving the fifth-most at-bats.

“He knows how to handle not playing everyday, coming off the bench, not getting at-bats for a while, then getting a ton of at-bats,” manager Bob Melvin said. “There are very few guys like him who are able to handle the role like that.”

Flores’ standing within the organization is greater than the average role player.

After Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski, there isn’t a longer-tenured position player in the clubhouse.

Particular with Thairo Estrada, a fellow Venezuelan whom he called his “little brother,” Flores has taken other Latin players under his wing. His presence should be especially valuable this season, with Marco Luciano and Luis Matos among the prospects expected to graduate to the major leagues.

“Even though he doesn’t say a whole lot, he is a big personality here,” Melvin said, calling him “the ultimate team guy.”

No more was that on display than late this offseason, when the Giants were seeking a slugger to plug into the middle of their lineup.

At the time, Davis was still expected to be their regular third baseman, with the majority of Flores’ at-bats likely to come as the right-handed side of a platoon between designated hitter and first base. When Zaidi brought up the idea of bringing in Jorge Soler, Flores enthusiastically agreed to join a Zoom call with Estrada that ultimately helped convince the Cuban slugger to sign with San Francisco, directly cutting into Flores’ potential playing time.

“He had a lot to do with Soler coming here,” Melvin said, “knowing that some of his at-bats were going to go away.”

When it came time to decide who would receive those remaining at-bats, the choice was straightforward.

“Given the reality of our roster constraints, this was just the move that we decided to make,” Zaidi said. “I would just say this is more of a credit to Wilmer.”