The San Francisco Giants’ bullpen picture became a lot less cloudy Tuesday when the team sent out four candidates, including incumbent Spencer Bivens and another regular, Tristan Beck. And in the outfield, it appears that non-roster player Jared Oliva is in an excellent spot to make the team, which would be one of the better Opening Day roster stories around the league.
The Giants optioned out outfielders Drew Gilbert and Will Brennan, leaving Oliva and out-of options Luis Matos for the fourth outfielder spot. According to a source, Matos is expected to be designated for assignment on Wednesday before the Giants open the season against the Yankees at Oracle Park.
Oliva is 30, hasn’t played in the majors in five years, and didn’t even start for his high school team. But he led the Cactus League in steals this spring and showed he can bunt for hits and push the action, something manager Tony Vitello and top baseball exec Buster Posey prioritize.
Matos, 24, has played in 178 games with the Giants over parts of three seasons and he’s had a few promising hot streaks but never appeared well suited for a backup outfield spot, cooling off quickly when on the bench. His defense and baserunning has been prone to the occasional mistake, too. In his time with the Giants, he’s hit .231 with 15 homers; should he be traded to or picked up by a team that has regular playing time for him, Matos might turn into a solid big-leaguer, given his power.
Brennan had a solid spring after getting picked up when camp opened. Gilbert, who played for Vitello at Tennessee and provided the Giants a spark when he came up last season, was limited by a shoulder injury much of the spring.
Also optioned to Triple-A Sacramento were two of the team’s young starters who were in the mix for the long-reliever spot, Trevor McDonald and Carson Seymour. That leaves Keaton Winn as the only one from that bunch of starters still in contention for a roster spot. Vitello mentioned Winn and J.T. Brubaker as possibilities for the swingman-type role.
Given the bullpen cuts, the Giants might have three lefties available against the Yankees: Erik Miller, Matt Gage and new addition Ryan Borucki.
Lineup news: Vitello said Heliot Ramos will, indeed, snap the Giants’ extraordinary run of using a different left-fielders on 19 consecutive season openers, dating back to Barry Bonds’ retirement. “Officially,” he said.
Vitello said he also expects center fielder Harrison Bader, who’s been out a week with hamstring tightness, to be in the lineup. Bader played Tuesday against Monterrey.