3 key SF Giants position battles to watch in spring training

The SF Giants enter spring training with a lot of their roster feeling fairly set. However, there are always going to be position battles in camp so let's take a look at three of the most interesting ones as the Giants get ready for Cactus League play.

Breaking down top SF Giants position battles in spring training

Backup middle infielder

Most of the infield seems fairly set for the Giants. We know the left side of the infield is going to be dominated by Matt Chapman at third base and Willy Adames at shortstop. Tyler Fitzgerald should get the nod as the everyday starter at second base to start the season after his strong 2024 campaign. The Giants will have Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr. share time as platoon partners at first base.

That makes for five infielders who will have a guaranteed spot on the Opening Day roster. That really only leaves room for one more spot on the roster and the most likely scenario is that it will go to either Casey Schmitt or Brett Wisely. Both can play second base, third base, and shortstop and both showed some promise in 2024.

Wisely may have the slight upper hand over Schmitt because he is a left-handed hitter and the only other left-handed infielder the Giants will have is Wade. Nonetheless, if Schmitt outperforms Wisely in spring training he could easily earn that final spot. He could also be a nice insurance policy at second base if Fitzgerald struggles

Backup outfielders

The starting outfield for the Giants entering 2025 will likely have Heliot Ramos in left field, Jung Hoo Lee in center field, and Mike Yastrzemski in right field. They are still going to carry two more outfielders in all likelihood.

The top three candidates for those two spots are Jerar Encarnación, Luis Matos, and Grant McCray. Matos is definitely a favorite given the fact he showed us how good he can be for a brief stretch last season and also performed well in winter ball.

If the Giants want to emphasize speed and defense, going with a combination of Matos and McCray would make a lot of sense. But if they want a player with greater power potential, then Encarnación makes sense. However, Encarnación is limited in that he can only play the corner outfield spots or serve as designated hitter while Matos and McCray can play all three outfield spots.

Fifth spot in the rotation

As of right now, it seems that the top four spots in the starting rotation will consist of Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, and Jordan Hicks. That leaves the fifth spot of the rotation open, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that it will be an open competition.

It still seems like Kyle Harrison is the favorite to snag that last spot in the rotation. Even though he struggled a bit in 2024 and ended the season on the injured list, he still has a lot of potential and has more experience than other candidates like Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp.

However, competition is never a bad thing so if Harrison goes out and earns that final spot in the rotation then he could enter the season with greater confidence.

These are the position battles to watch in spring training and it will be interesting to see how things shake out and what the Opening Day roster will look like.