I have made it very well known how much of a Giants fan I am. So much so that I have built a career around covering them. And as much as I have always loved this team and enjoyed the players who wear the Orange and Black, covering this team has given me a chance to become a bigger fan of certain players. Tyler Fitzgerald is a guy I have come to enjoy a lot as a person over the last couple of seasons for how approachable he is and how conversational he can be. It makes rooting for his success easy to do.
That made the conversation we had Friday at Scottsdale Stadium a little tough as he talked about how frustrating this spring training has been for him so far. We have seen the good from Fitzgerald and know how good he can be. We all remember his scorching hot stretch in August of 2024. We know that when he is on, he can be a plus contact hitter with great speed and an above average glove.
That has not been the case so far this spring, though there is still plenty of time left to get things back on track.
“I'm healthy, so that's a plus,” said Fitzgerald when I caught up with him on Friday. “Ready for the season, [it] hasn't been the best spring.”
Fitzgerald entered Friday sporting a .167/.167/.367 slash line along with a .534 OPS. Hardly the kind of numbers a young player looking to establish himself still wants to see. The lack of time on base has prevented him from being able to showcase his speed, something the Giants hope to get out of a lot of their players this year. He did hit a home run on Tuesday in Goodyear against the Guardians, a much needed positive development.
“It helps out a little bit,” said Fitzgerald about the homer on Tuesday. “It's good to peak at the right time in spring. I've always been a pretty slow spring player. This is nothing new for me. I think if you look back at my last three or four spring trainings, it's pretty similar to this one. So, [I] try to take it with a grain of salt.”
This has been a different spring for Fitzgerald. Last year he came in with the starting second base job in hand. It made dealing with the low times in spring training a lot easier. Patience was easier to come by when he had the security of a starting job and the confidence that comes with it.
This spring, he is not the starting second baseman. That will be Luis Arraez when he returns from World Baseball Classic action. Furthermore, Fitzgerald is not a lock to even make the final roster. The other three infield spots are held by well-paid veterans in Matt Chapman, Willy Adames and Rafael Devers. Casey Schmitt will be a utility backup infielder who will get a lot of at bats. Fitzgerald is now battling with Christan Koss for that second backup infielder spot. Both players are very similar in what they play. They both bring the same amount of speed and versatility to the table. Both can be excellent with the gloves and both can have solid, contact heavy approaches.
The difference is Koss has been hitting this spring, batting .391/.519/.381 with six RBI, five walks and a stolen base. If the decision had to be made today, Koss is probably on the roster over Fitzgerald. But the decision does not have to be made today, and there is still ample time for Fitzgerald to make his case and peak at the right time in spring training, which he said is the last week of games.
“Probably the last week or so, you want to start having some better at bats,” said Fitzgerald on when the best time to peak is. “It'd be great to have good at bats the whole spring. But you know, everyone's on different timetables in spring. Some guys take longer. Some guys just come out and start hitting right away. I've never really been that kind of guy, so we're on par for what I usually do in spring.”
The good news for Fitzgerald is that, while the stat sheet lacks the appeal he wants, the effort he is putting out is not being lost on Giants manager Tony Vitello.
“He's shown explosive ability to drive the ball when he's made the contact that he wants to,” said Vitello when I asked about the positives he is seeing at the plate. “He's been in a lot of at bats. I'd be curious to see his pitch per plate appearance, because he's had a lot of lengthy at bats where he's in the fight.”
Fitzgerald is averaging about 3.8 pitches per plate appearance in 30 plate appearances so far this spring, with a few long at-bats sprinkled in. The problem has been turning those long at bats into positive results. All of his longest at-bats have ended in outs.
There are some positives to find for Fitzgerald.
“I feel like I'm hitting lefties better,” he said. “I faced quite a few early on in spring, and I was getting no results and wasn't driving the ball with the last two I've faced. I've been on the heater and I've driven the heater. Now it's just figuring out righties and staying on time with not chasing the fastballs in and the breaking balls away, which is something that'll come but I guess the one positive is how I'm hitting lefties recently.”
Fitzgerald has enjoyed working with the new coaching staff, and said he has gotten some good pointers from new hitting coach Hunter Mense, as well as leaning on tips and adjustments from various minor league coaches too.
While the hitting has struggled, Fitzgerald has still had the privilege to work under the tutelage of new infield coach Ron Washington, who has turned many average infielders into great defensive stalwarts.
“It's honestly incredible,” said Fitzgerald on working with Washington. “We work. It's a lot. You see me coming in here sweating after working with him, and it's a lot every day. It's a big commitment on our part and his part to be out there early. And I can already tell, I feel super comfortable out there and field whatever balls are hit to me. There's just a lot of trust in my glove right now, which it all comes from just the repetition with him.”
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The Giants played two games today, both against the Reds. The later game was at the Reds facility in Goodyear while the earlier one started at 4:05 at Scottsdale Stadium. Landen Roupp got the start in that game, but the headliner was the first spring appearance for left-handed reliever Erik Miller, who entered the game to start the 4th inning.
Miller allowed a leadoff single to Reds first baseman PJ Higgins before striking out Garret Hampson, Tyson Lewis and TJ Friedl to end the inning.
“It was good,” said Miller on his debut outing. “It's been a long time since I've thrown a big league game… So it feels like it's been a long time for sure, but it was just good to get back out there, kind of get the nerves out of the way.”
Tony Vitello was also encouraged by Miller's outing after the game and was happy that the team had been taking a patient approach with getting him ready.
“It’s a big win for him,” said Vitello after the Giants 6-1 loss to the Reds at Scottsdale Stadium. “And obviously for us too. And I thought he threw the ball well. [Patrick] Bailey looked at me like I had three heads when I asked him how the stuff was, because it was good, but that's who he is.”
Miller has not appeared in anything other than a few side outings up until today due to dealing with lower back tightness. It is an issue he is still managing day-to-day.
“It's been a month since something happened,” he said when asked about how he is working to prevent any future flare ups. “That's when it happens again, when you just stop taking care of it.
“It's just staying on top of it,” he continued. “Right now, I feel great. I don't feel anything. Doesn't mean I can't stop doing stuff, prep work and focusing on certain things, core exercises, whatnot, just to make sure it stays good.”
Miller was one of the Giants better high leverage relievers last year, and he could be a crucial part of a bullpen this year that has a lot of question marks around it. Tony Vitello said that bullpen roles will be fluid early on, but that is not deterring Miller from trying to seize a high leverage role if he can.
“I don't really care where I throw every guy out there wants to throw as late as you can in the game,” he said. “It's more fun to throw later in the game.
“Where they use me, I don't know,” he went on to say. “I don't know if it's it'll end up being more of a set thing, or if, I haven't talked to [the coaching staff], but I would think there's a higher chance it's a little bit more fluid, maybe later in the game, based on where the lefties on the team are coming up. But I'd have to imagine that they're going to try to maximize the matchups when possible.”
There is still a chance that Miller can be ready for Opening Day. A finger issue last year limited him to six appearances last spring. His goal is to get at least four or five in before the start of this season. But he is no stranger to weird spring trainings.
With a little more than a week left in spring training, Vitello sounds confident that Miller can still be ready for the Giants by Opening Day.
“In my opinion, he does,” said Vitello. “I don't think there was anything drastic going on. So, karma guy, you don't say too much, but, I mean, he was in a position where he's able to keep his arm moving, so I think he's in a good spot, and I think he feels that way.”
Miller being ready for Opening Day would be a huge development for this Giants bullpen. It is possible you could see an Opening Day bullpen that consists of:
Ryan Walker
Erik Miller
Jose Butto
Matt Gage
Joey Lucchesi
Spencer Bivens
One of Michael Fulmer/ JT Brubaker/ Trevor McDonald/ Someone Else
Not the worst group to go into the season with.
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Some updates on Hayden Birdsong, who according to Susan Slusser said he hopes to only be out for a few weeks. She was able to get a hold of his agent, Scott Boras, who told her that it was not an elbow issue with Birdsong.
He was in the clubhouse this morning wearing a protective sleeve on his right elbow.
Tony Vitello for the second day in a row declined to get into the medical specifics of what is going on with Birdsongs elbow.
“Experts will help take a look and fully assess what's going on,” said Vitello in his pregame media scrum. “That can provide most important to have clarity is himself so he's got a clear vision of you know what his future is and what his path is.”
As far as Vitello knows, Birdsong has not undergone an MRI just yet.
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Drew Gilbert has been dealing with an impingement in his left shoulder over the last week that has prevented him from playing defense in games. He has been able to hit at least, going 0-4 with some hard contact in the loss to the Reds. Vitello said before the game that Gilbert is progressing in his distance throwing and that the process is going well.