SF Giants: Players with no options remaining

The SF Giants will have at least one interesting camp battle when spring training begins, but they will have seven players entering camp with no options remaining. This puts a few of those players in an interesting spot as they will need to win a roster spot.

SF Giants: Players with no options remaining

The seven players that have no options remaining include Darin Ruf, Jarlin García, LaMonte Wade Jr., Tyler Beede, Thairo Estrada, Steven Duggar, and Mauricio Dubón. Several of these players are already penciled in for the 2022 roster, so their spring training performances will not be as important.

Players with defined roles in 2022

Darin Ruf

2021 stats: .271/.385/.519 line (143 OPS+), 16 HR, 43 RBI, 41 R, and 2.9 WAR in 312 PA

The right-handed slugger has been one of the many impressive finds by the front office as he has quietly become one of the better hitters in baseball since coming to the Giants in 2020. Originally brought on to hit against left-handed pitching, Ruf has proven that he can handle righties as well. He will see most of his time in left field next season, but he has experience at first base and right field as well.

Jarlin García

2021 stats: 2.62 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 0.961 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, and 3.78 SO/W in 68.2 IP

Similar to a lot of the names in this article, García was a shrewd addition by the front office. He came over to the Giants as a waiver claim from the Miami Marlins before the 2020 season. The left-handed hurler allowed only one earned run in 19 appearances in 2020 and he has established himself as a leverage arm in a strong bullpen.

LaMonte Wade Jr.

2021 stats: .253/.326/.482 line (117 OPS+), 18 HR, 56 RBI, 52 R, and 1.2 WAR in 381 PA

Wade's breakout season was one of the more fun stories of 2021. The Giants acquired him last February in a trade that sent Shaun Anderson to the Minnesota Twins. The left-handed bat displayed power that he had never shown as a pro previously and established himself as one of the more clutch hitters on the team, recording 13 hits in 23 at-bats in the ninth inning last season.

Steven Duggar

2021 stats: .257/.330/.437 line (107 OPS+), 8 HR, 35 RBI, 45 R, and 2.2 WAR in 297 PA

Duggar began the season on the roster bubble but the front office's patience in him was rewarded as he became a fixture in the Giants lineup. The question will be whether the left-handed bat can sustain this level of production given that he benefitted a .355 BABIP in 2021. Nevertheless, he is the best defensive center field on the 40-man roster.

Players who still have something to prove in 2022

Mauricio Dubón

2021 stats: .204/.278/.377 line (76 OPS), 5 HR, 22 RBI, 20 R, and 0.4 WAR in 187 PA

Dubón began the 2021 campaign as the team's Opening Day center fielder, but he was demoted at the end of June as he struggled to hit major league pitching. Not only that but he was seemingly passed up by Thairo Estrada on the depth chart. There might only be one roster spot for a right-handed hitting middle infielder, and the Dubón has an uphill battle to climb.

Thairo Estrada

2021: .273/.333/.479 line (118 OPS+), 7 HR, 22 RBI, 19 R, and 0.7 WAR in 132 PA

If there is only one roster spot for a right-handed-hitting middle infielder, then Estrada is likely the frontrunner after an impressive season with the Giants. He filled in nicely at shortstop while Brandon Crawford was on the injured list midway through the season and he also saw time at second base, third base, and both corner outfield spots. He does not have the most patient approach, but he proved to be a good mistake-ball hitter.

Tyler Beede

2021 (AAA) stats: 6.66 ERA, 1.95 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, and 1.11 SO/W in 48.2 IP.

The former first round pick returned from Tommy John surgery in 2021 and struggled with his control. That is to be expected as finding a consistent release point is one of the last traits to return for a pitcher after major elbow surgery. That said, he will be nearly two years removed from the original injury when spring training begins, so he will need to show improved command in camp. The Giants still have at least one spot to fill in the starting rotation and it is possible that Beede will be fighting for that spot.