Recently converted SF Giants outfielder needs to have a strong spring

Going into spring training last season, the presumption was that the SF Giants were going to roll with Marco Luciano as their starting shortstop. That presumption proved...presumptuous, and now Luciano needs to impress in 2025.

Looking back, it was a bit wild for the Giants to publicly commit to handing the keys to Luciano at shortstop. Sure, he was the team's top prospect and had solid offensive numbers in the minor leagues, but there were still a lot of question marks surrounding his defense and his ability to be an everyday player at one of the most important positions on the field at the big league level.

Ultimately, the Giants realized this and signed veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed as an insurance policy. However, once Ahmed went down with an injury and the Giants called up Luciano, we got to see just how unready Luciano was to be an everyday shortstop.

Marco Luciano needs a strong spring for the SF Giants

Luciano made a literal comedy of errors in less than a week when he was called up last May, and the Giants basically never played him at shortstop again after that. There was a brief plan to feature him as the team's designated hitter after they traded away Jorge Soler, but that plan proved short lived as he was sent back to Triple-A.

Eventually, the Giants said that they would be converting Luciano into an outfielder. That is quite the fall to go from presumed starting shortstop to outfielder in the course of a year. However, Luciano is just 23 years old so there is still time for him to get his career back on track.

That begins with having a strong spring training. Luciano may never be a strong defender at any position which is why it is important that he begins to impress with his bat. It would be one thing if he had the defensive struggles he had last season but was raking at the plate. Instead, he struggled to the tune of a .211/.259/.303 slash line with no home runs and three RBI.

Perhaps with the pressure of being a top prospect and having to try to fill the shoes of franchise legend Brandon Crawford off his shoulders, he can now relax a bit and start playing more freely. Giants beat reporter Alex Pavlovic notes that the Giants did not make really any outfield additions in the offseason which could open the door for someone like Luciano to snag a spot on the roster.

Luis Matos is definitely ahead of him as things currently stand, but if Luciano were to tear it up while Matos struggles then we could see Luciano break camp with the Giants. Even if Luciano does not break camp with the team, he needs to have a strong spring to prove that he has put 2024 behind him. If he can do that and hits well in the minor leagues then we could definitely see him at some point this season as he tries to get back on track.