Corner infielder's time with SF Giants likely coming to an end

The SF Giants had a handful of players enter camp without any minor league options remaining. David Villar is among that group and without a path to playing time or a role, his time with the club could be coming to an end soon.

Corner infielder's time with SF Giants likely coming to an end

The other players without any minor league options include Heliot Ramos, Sam Huff, and Jerar Encarnación. Ramos is penciled in as the everyday left fielder, so that is a non-factor.

Huff could begin the year as the backup catcher to Patrick Bailey given that he is already on the 40-man roster. That could be a short-term role if he does not perform but it makes sense for the club to exhaust that option before they move in a different direction.

Encarnación has been the Giants' best hitter so far this spring. He hit a booming home run over the weekend and followed that up with a five-RBI game on Sunday. He has pretty clearly made the Opening Day roster and could be angling for a larger role if he performs early in the year.

That leaves Villar as the odd player out. The right-handed bat had a nice rookie season in 2022, where he posted a .787 OPS with nine home runs and 24 RBI in 181 plate appearances. Due in part to this, the Giants moved on from Evan Longoria and tabbed Villar as the everyday third baseman.

Villar got off to a solid start in the first week of 2023, but his year spiraled quickly as he proved unable to adjust to low-and-away offspeed pitches. He has typically had a high strikeout rate as a pro, but this led to a pretty large spike in his chase and swing-and-miss rates. J.D. Davis supplanted him as the everyday third baseman by May, and Villar has never really looked back.

The 28-year-old hitter has seen very little playing time since then. Of course, the Giants have added Matt Chapman in that time, so Villar is blocked at third base. He is also blocked at first base with players like Wilmer Flores, LaMonte Wade Jr., and Encarnación ahead of him on the depth chart.

Villar is in kind of an odd spot at the moment. He is trying out for 29 other clubs but he has not seen the field much this year. He was even noticeably absent during a split-squad game last week. When he has appeared in the field, he has been limited to first base, which is one of his positions but it does not allow him to showcase his ability at third base for the rest of the league. Not that the Giants have any obligation to do so.

Overall, the righty bat has tallied three hits in 11 at-bats. There is a good chance that he reaches waivers once the Cactus League comes to an end. That is a time where every team hopes to slip someone through waivers.

That could happen with Villar where he would remain in Sacramento. However, a team may take a chance on a player who had a nice rookie season not that long ago.