On Friday, Giants beat reporter Maria Guardado held an Ask Me Anything on Reddit with fans at r/sfgiants. This mailbag features questions and answers from there. The full AMA can be read here. Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Assuming no further acquisitions, who do the Giants think can break out and be a reliable bullpen setup arm for the seventh, eighth innings? Noting that Randy Rodríguez is out for the year and Erik Miller also had injury scares that so far have not resulted in Tommy John surgery.
I think Miller should be in line for a lot of late-inning work if he's healthy, but the Giants will probably have to be careful with his workload given his recent elbow trouble. Joel Peguero and José Buttó come to mind as guys who could move into higher-leverage roles as well.
I'm fascinated to see what role Hayden Birdsong will slot into if he manages to regain his command this spring. The Giants still view him as a starter, but he's also shown that he can be a weapon out of the bullpen, so he could be an intriguing relief option if he doesn't crack the Opening Day rotation this year.
What player(s), if any in the Minor Leagues, have a genuine shot at being on the team at the start of the year?
Rule 5 Draft pick Daniel Susac is the frontrunner to be the backup catcher right now, so he should be a guy to watch. (If he doesn't stick, the job could also fall to another catching prospect in Jesus Rodriguez.)
I'm also intrigued by Blade Tidwell, who pitched really well at Triple-A Sacramento after coming over from the Mets in the Tyler Rogers trade last year. He probably would have earned a big league callup if he hadn't gotten hurt, so I think he could be a candidate for a spot on the pitching staff if he has a good spring.
Which position battles will be the most interesting to watch?
I think the closer spot will be a bit of an open competition, so I'll be curious to see how that ends up shaking out. Ryan Walker has the most ninth-inning experience on the roster, but he's coming off a down year, so he'll definitely have to come out and perform if he wants to reclaim that role again.
I'm wondering why there still hasn't been an official coaching staff announcement. Is there someone the team is still waiting on to be available or what?
This has become a bit of a running gag among the beat writers because we keep joking that we'll probably have to wait until the first day of Spring Training to find out who's on the coaching staff. I think pretty much all of the coaches have been hired, but general manager Zack Minasian mentioned a couple of weeks ago that manager Tony Vitello was still considering filling one more spot, so they're still having ongoing conversations on that front.
Any notable Giants or Giants prospects who showed up early and have already been working out at the Arizona complex, and when do you plan to head down there?
A ton of Giants players live in Arizona in the offseason (e.g., Logan Webb, Willy Adames, Robbie Ray), so I think there are always a lot of guys who are in and out of the complex. Birdsong also said he'd been working out in Arizona since Nov. 15, so he seems like one of the guys who is trying to get a bit of a head start after a tough year. I'll be heading down on Feb. 9, so you should see more coverage from me then!