SF Giants vs. Royals: Dubón’s job description among baseball’s most interesting, surprise cuts and more

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Mauricio Dubón might have one of the most interesting job descriptions of any Major League Baseball player.

He’s the Giants’ best defensive center fielder and their only backup shortstop. He’s played third base and second base during spring training and if the team needed Dubón to play a corner outfield spot, there’s little doubt he could handle it.

“He’s worked exceptionally hard to be flexible with the versatility we’re asking him to have,” manager Gabe Kapler said.

How often will Dubón be in the lineup this season? That’s a question the Giants probably won’t be able to answer during spring training.

Kapler has devoted much of Cactus League play to determining which players on the Giants’ 40-man roster are capable of playing center field. The Giants know Dubón is rangy and athletic enough to handle the position and he proved as much last season. They’re less certain about Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Austin Slater, but all three have been given chances and will continue to receive repetitions in center field this spring.

Monday’s 6-1 loss to the Royals marked a chance for Slater and top outfield prospect Heliot Ramos to play center field as Slater roamed the outfield for four innings before giving way to Ramos, who is also attempting to prove he’s a long-term option at the position.

There were no rigorous tests for Slater, but there were a few for Dubón at shortstop, where he played seven innings.

Dubón ascended through the Brewers’ farm system as a middle infielder before being traded to San Francisco at the 2019 deadline, but he’s still a work in progress at shortstop.

In the bottom of the first on Monday, he misplayed a routine grounder hit by Whit Merrifield that kicked off a five-run inning for Kansas City and immediately put starter Anthony Banda into a high-stress situation. Errors have plagued Dubón a bit this spring, but he recovered from the early hiccup and showed why the Giants believe he’s their best option at short behind starter Brandon Crawford.

“I was talking with (bench coach Kai Correa) and in the spring I don’t care if I do errors, I’m just trying to work on some stuff,” Dubón said. “When the season comes, it’ll be go time.”

With speedy Jarrod Dyson at first base in the bottom of the fourth, Dubón purposely dropped an infield pop-up to get a force at second and allow Royals middle infielder Nicky Lopez to reach. The play took Kansas City’s fastest runner off the base paths and demonstrated the type of high-IQ approach the Giants appreciate up the middle.

“The whole time I was thinking about it, but I just wanted to make sure the ball wasn’t going to hit the dirt and bounce,” Dubón explained. “As soon as I felt the grass, I was good to go and I was able to let it drop.”

The next inning, Dubón charged a slowly hit chopper from another fast baserunner, Michael Taylor, and threw a strike to Wade at first base to record the out.

Dubón’s subtle improvements in recent games at shortstop isn’t just good news for the Giants, it’s critical to the team’s ability to play adequate defense. If Dubón can’t provide depth behind Crawford, the front office will likely have to look outside the organization for a suitable backup, which could have other undesirable effects on the roster makeup.

In an ideal world for the Giants, Dubón continues improving in the infield while Yastrzemski asserts himself as a strong defender in center, giving Kapler more freedom to create favorable matchups when crafting his lineups.

Davis, Menez among Giants cuts

When the Giants announced they had reassigned 25 players to minor league camp on Monday, there were very few surprises.

It wasn’t shocking to see Jaylin Davis and left-handed pitcher Conner Menez among the players reassigned, but it did provide an indication as to where they stand on the Giants’ organizational depth chart.

Since the Giants traded for Davis –a former Twins prospect– at the 2019 deadline, the Appalachian State product has been unable to carry over the incredibly consistent power he flashed in the upper levels of Minnesota’s farm system.

Davis hit the first home run of the Giants’ 2020 season at Dodger Stadium, but that was the only homer he registered last year as he went 2-for-12 with six strikeouts before being optioned to the team’s Sacramento alternate site. He didn’t make another appearance last season and it seems as if Davis has fallen so far down on the Giants’ depth chart that even Ramos, a prospect who has never had a Triple-A at-bat, has surpassed him.

Davis spoke with reporters Monday after the cuts were announced and said Kapler had informed him of the team’s decision Saturday. The Giants have been adamant Davis needs to make more contact to have a chance to stick in the big leagues and after he struck out eight times in 15 plate appearances this spring, he’s well aware of what he’ll need to do to earn another shot.

“Just a lot more reps,” Davis said. “For me, it’s just trying to feel comfortable, getting back to being comfortable in the box.”

The Giants caught a glimpse of that comfort level in Sunday’s game when Davis hit a 110.1 mile per hour sacrifice fly and a single that produced an exit velocity above 106 miles per hour, but they’d like to see him build off that in the minors.

“We believe in Jaylin, it’s important to recognize that there are adjustments that can be made that can put him right back into our mix and our very near future mix,” Kapler said.

Like Davis, Menez only received a limited opportunity in the majors last year, but he fared much better. In 11 1/3 innings, the Hollister native only gave up six hits and struck out eight, proving he could be effective as a long reliever.

When Menez was sent down to the alternate site in August because the Giants needed a fresh arm, he thought he’d be back in the majors soon. The phone call never came and after throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings on Sunday against the D’backs, he was informed he’d be headed to minor league camp alongside Davis.

The Giants have given Menez a new plan of attack and asked him to up his slider and curveball usage, so it’s possible they want to see him throw each of those pitches for strikes more often before seriously considering him as a fit for the major league rotation or bullpen.

News and notes

–Ramos was the lone top prospect the Giants did not reassign Monday as they rewarded him for what’s been an incredibly impressive showing thus far in camp. Most of Ramos’ highlights have come at the plate, but he had his best defensive play of the spring on Monday when he raced into deep center field, twisted his body around and caught a flyball hit by Dyson that sent Ramos bouncing off the outfield wall.

–Wade also had one of the Giants’ defensive highlights Monday as he prevented the Royals from scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh with an assist to catcher Chadwick Tromp. After Wade fielded a groundball along the first-base line hit by Kyle Isbel, he fired home to Tromp to retire pinch-runner Clay Dungan at the plate. The play required Wade to step away from Isbel to ensure he had a clear path to Tromp, who finished the play with a nice tag.

–Rule 5 pick Dedniel Núñez was diagnosed with a UCL sprain in his right elbow and will get a second opinion on the injury before determining a treatment and recovery plan. Pitchers with UCL injuries often undergo Tommy John surgery, which requires a 12-plus month rehab process.

–Left-handed starter Alex Wood is seeing a spine specialist to evaluate his back stiffness and it’s unlikely he’ll appear in a game within the next few days, according to Kapler. If Wood’s back injury is serious, Kapler mentioned Logan Webb would be a candidate to make the Opening Day roster and pitch in the rotation. Even if Wood is healthy and pitching again soon, Webb has thrown well enough this spring to put himself in contention for a roster spot.