SF Giants utility bat finally shows signs of life in spring training, but it's too late

Coming into spring training, SF Giants utility bat Tyler Fitzgerald was looking to impress the new coaching staff after a lackluster 2025 campaign. He looked better on Tuesday, but it is probably too late for him to make the team.

So far in Arizona, Fitzgerald has four hits in 26 at-bats. That's good for just a .154 batting average even though his four hits have been three doubles and a two-run home run which he hit against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.

Fitzgerald not doing enough to make the team in spring training

He still has some time to try and get hot with the bat, but the issue is that he needed a really hot spring if he was going to compete with Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss for an infield spot on the bench. The Giants may still have a tough decision when it comes to which infielders they decide to carry on the Opening Day roster, but Fitzgerald is almost certainly not going to factor into that equation.

Last year at this time, Fitzgerald was the presumptive Opening Day second baseman. He had earned that distinction thanks to a solid breakout year in 2024 when he slashed .280/.334/.497 with 15 home runs and 34 runs batted in. He was the team's starting shortstop by the end of that year but even after the team signed Willy Adames in the offseason, sliding Fitzgerald over to second seemed like the obvious thing to do.

The Illinois native looked pretty good early in 2025, but he suffered a rib injury and never looked the same after that. Eventually he got demoted which opened the door for Schmitt to get the bulk of the playing time at second base.

The Giants tried to experiment with Fitzgerald later in the season by calling him up and using him in the outfield, but his bat did not warrant an extended look as he slashed .217/.278/.327 with four homers and 14 runs batted in across 72 games.

It's a shame that Fitzgerald's bat has abandoned him because the other skills he brings to the table make him a valuable player. He is fast and has stolen 26 bases over the last two seasons for the Giants. He can also play pretty much anywhere as he's played every position on the field in his three big league seasons except for catcher.

We could still see him on the Giants at some point in 2026 if there is an injury. He just has to get hot at the plate and recapture some of the form he had back in 2024. If he can, then he could still be an impactful player in San Francisco.