Dave Tobener breaks down how the Giants' roster will shake out after Spring Training

0:00When you really need care, you need 24-7 access to a care team, not a maze of paperwork from a third party. Every day, America's hospitals and health systems show up for you. Navigating healthcare can fuel overwhelming. But you can count on real doctors, real nurses, real people, providing quality around the clock care when you need it most. They're in your corner. In communities across America, your neighbors, your lifelines, right beside you holding your hand and helping find answers. That's what putting patients first actually means. Learn more at strengthinhealthcare.org. Brought to you by the Coalition to Strength in America's Health Care. Welcome back to Sportsphone KMBR with Bill Laske. I'm honored to have a guest on. Of course, he writes for the SF Gate, writes some great sporting reports about the giants and other teams. Let's bring on Dave Toadner today. Hi, Dave, how are you? Doing good, Bill. Good to be talking to you again. Yeah, pleasure baseball seasons here. Giants are playing very well in spring training. Let's ask about this manager, Tony Vittello. How do you think he's handling the team, as well as the players? I mean, they're so far so good.

1:01It seems like every report seems to be glowing from everyone they talk to. There's a lot of questions about a guy who's never been on the big league level, never played, never managed, never coached. It's a new frontier, really. It's going to be difficult for him. I think this year, a lot of questions about what he's going to do and how he can handle things. But so far, he's really meeting the challenge. Obviously, it's going to be different when the regular season starts. It's a much longer season than he's ever had before in college. So there'll be questions, but so far, he seems to be meeting the challenge. And it's really all they can ask for right now. It seems to be giving them a shot of adrenaline, which is something they've lacked for the last couple of years. Well, Dave to WBC is happening right now. A lot of the regulars are playing in different countries they're representing. And I think what's happening is Tony's being able to see some of the younger talent,

2:02which is really opening eyes for him, as well as Buster Posey, because they're really on stage playing in major league games. This is something that you usually don't see. How do you think he's evaluating this? Yeah, you know, it's funny to say that because you can look at it from two perspectives. One, not having all his regulars there might be a detriment to him considering he's just starting out and he's trying to win over the clubhouse and win over the guys. But also, like you said, you know, the giants, you're going to have to really rely on a lot of their homegrown guys this year. So and especially something like the telly was coming from the college level where he can, you know, he's he's he's used to guys in that age range. You know, that that maturity level that the youth and hopefully, you know, it's something that he can build on. It's his strength and getting to see these guys up close, getting, you know, getting them like you said on a bigger stage, seeing how they perform because they're going to need them. You know, their depth is going to be tested this year and they didn't really make a big splash and on the free agent market or on the trade front.

3:11So, you know, they're really relying on their own homegrown depth. So the tello getting a chance to really see what he has. I think we'll pay off over the long run for sure. Well, Dave Buster Posey put 13 coaches around Tony Vitello to help him in every which way. Of course, the veteran Ron Washington's there is helping on defense as well as in game prep. I think those are some of the things that Buster wanted some new voices, some new faces. It's working so far. Yeah, and you know, it reminds me of when Kapler came on, if you remember his coaching staff was enormous and it was kind of a anomaly for the time. And, you know, Buster was on that 2021 team and saw firsthand, you know, how having those kind of different voices can really can really help. And, you know, Buster had a career year that year and a lot of guys had careers that year. So maybe he figures that, you know, getting new voices in and getting more voices in is the way to go to kind of get everything that they that they can out of this team.

4:13And, you know, he's got, like you said, he's got Washington, he's got washed there, who's had tremendous success at the big league level. And there's a great guy. He's got Jason Tingler, who's been a big league manager, he can lean on him. So, you know, and a lot of guys that are relatively unknown at this level anyway, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they don't have a lot to offer and so far so good. That voice you hear in sports phone KBR Dave Tomer, of course, he's a columnist with SFG covers the Giants. You look at Hunter Ments, a hitting coach with Oscar Bernard, of course, Oscar Bernard's coming back from last year. A real good connection to the Latin players. I think that's why he is back because they really, really evaluated him throughout the winner and they invited him back, which I think is a very big plus with law, Latin players. But Hunter Ments seems like he's doing well, Patrick Bailey, really like some and he's making contact. He's making these guys make contact in certain situations.

5:13They're coming through with runners and scoring positions. Sure, we know it's spring training, but it seems a little different. How about you? What do you think? Yeah, and you know, it's a different perspective. I mean, he came from the Blue Jays and you saw how the Blue Jays hit. I mean, they're just a relentless offense and his approach seems to be a little bit of a different approach than the Giants have had over the last couple of years. You know, they've got a lot of aggressive hitters in that lineup and you know, it's, it's sometimes a new perspective is all a guy needs and you know, no offense to the previous coaching staff, no offense to Pat Brawl or Damon Minor, those guys are, you know, they know what they're talking about, but sometimes you just need a fresh voice and he's got a track record. I mean, the Blue Jays, like I said, are one of the best hitting teams in baseball for his whole tenure there. So, you know, it's, it's something new and to reach guys, you know, like Devers and Adomas and Chapman. And like you said, Bailey, I mean, if Bailey can, if Bailey can just be an average hitter, he'd be the best catcher in baseball because you know what he brings defensively.

6:17So it's exciting. You know, it's, it's a new approach. It's, it's something fresh and the Giants were pretty stagnant over the last couple of years. So it's, it's really something they needed and it seems to be working. So you look on the pitching side, Justin message coming in a AAA pitching coach was in the big lease here and there. And then you have Christian wonders who really does a lot of analytics and really looks at how to develop the pitch home pitchers mentally. Again, we're talking about two new voices, two new opportunities for pitchers to understand a new voice. And we just talked about it with the hitting coach. He wants to fill up the strike zone. And he wants these guys to throw all one every time. It's easy to say, but it's hard to do. The message seems like it's working. Yeah, like you said, easier said than done, you know, throw strikes and let your defense play behind you and get guys out, you know, played the strengths of the ballpark. The Giants always have success when it starts with pitching. I mean, even the dynasty years, the rotation was the key.

7:21And, you know, it's, they've got the one of the best pitchers ball parks in baseball, you know, they've got a very good defense behind them for those part. So, you know, pitching, don't be afraid to contact. Don't be afraid to throw strikes and, you know, it's, it's one of those things where you, you hope the message lands because. Giants have a lot of questions on their pitching staff and. These guys can throw strikes if they can stay with, with what works, then hopefully they have some success and like you said, same with the same with the hitting coaches, it's, it's a different voice and it's a different message and. It wasn't working the last few years, so a new approach was needed and I think, you know, like you said, it seems to be paying dividends so far. A lot of these young guys that look really good this way. Well, I think the biggest question, Dave is the bullpen, we're going to put you on a hot seat right now and dive into this with less than two weeks to go before they come up to San Francisco or really go to Sacramento to play the exhibition game.

8:24The bullpen is the biggest question. Where do these guys fit in? Jeremy F L came on this past week and said these guys need roles and I totally agree with him because you don't know what you're doing. If you're down the bullpen, you don't know when you're getting ready, the mental approach of the game and I think they have to have certain roles, long man, middle man, set up man and a close the closer. It looks like Ryan Walker's got the check mark on the closer position. What do you think about Ryan Walker going into again as the closer and I think that's about the only guy right now that has any experience? You know, he's got all the stuff in the world. He's had some success in the role. I mean, he kind of, he kind of lost himself a bit last year and, you know, he was just as unreliable as it gets for a stretch there. But like you said, like we were talking about previously, sometimes a new voice can help unlock guys and, you know, you don't want to give up on an arm like Walker. He's just got so much movement on his pitches. He competes, you know, he's not afraid to throw strikes and like you said, it's, it is a different mindset to close, you know, I don't, I don't buy into the fact that just anybody can close.

9:38I think you have to be able to handle the pressure. You have to be able to want that pressure and not everybody can do it. And the fact that Walker is seeking out that role and, you know, he owns up to the struggles he had and he wants to, you know, keep at it. I think, you know, the giants have been burned on big money contracts to closures over the last, the last couple of times they've done it with Benitez and the Lansing and it's not an area where they spend money and it's an area where, you know, they'd rather build from within. And there were a lot of good closures on the market this year who signed for pretty reasonable rates and giants just didn't engage with any of them. So Walker, you know, it speaks to the fact that they, they have some level of confidence in Walker. It also speaks to the fact that maybe they think a new voice can unlock something in him that wasn't being unlocked with the previous coaching staff. You know, it's, it's going to be the first few weeks, the first few months of the season, it's going to be kind of a tightrope block to see which one of these guys step up.

10:43And I think to speak to what Jeremy I felt was talking about. It seems to be like the roles are going to be decided in season. I don't know if any roles have been decided now. And whether that works or not is going to be is going to be a big question. And I mean, they've got a good lineup. Their rotation is solid, not spectacular. And the bullpen is just a huge question mark and it wouldn't be surprising if the whole season kind of makes a breaks with how the bullpen performs. Well, Eric Miller, the left hand specialist has been bothered with a sore back this week. He's throwing the live hitters. They're talking about possible getting it in the games and you still have a couple of weeks to ramp up. He's a big advantage if the giants can get him healthy and stay healthy. Last year he got injured and in a missing half of the season, he's got electric stuff from the left side. I really believe they need him. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, you saw how much the bullpen suffered last year when he went down.

11:45So he's a guy that they absolutely need. He's definitely the best left hander they have. And, you know, faster, he can get healthy, the better for it. And, you know, he's a guy that you can use late, you know, he could be a set up guy. He could be, you could close games, even if Walker falters. You know, it's, he's a guy that they, he's a kind of a linchpin in that bullpen. He gets healthy, you know, rolls me, start to fall into place, especially when he kind of takes his spot back. I mean, he's, he's definitely a late inning weapon and they need him back. The right hander that I'm really calling a black horse here, pitched really well yesterday, which was Sunday, Keaton win. Just two magnificent innings, 17 pitches, 14 for strikes. He's been plagued with injuries, but boy, he was devastating. Yes, very high, about 98 with a fastball, the sinker was working. But of course, the split finger is his out pitch.

12:46I think he's got an opportunity here to maybe make this bullpen. Yeah, you know, I think you'd have an opportunity to make this bullpen if they called you bill. I could throw 60 feet six inches. That's the issue. You know, I think, I think everything's, everything's up in the air. I mean, it's, you know, they've got some guys like Bednar who always for former first round pick, who's back. And it's just, it's Keaton wins a guy who, you know, he's probably not going to work as a starter. I know he's most of his big league experience has been as a starting pitcher, but, you know, he had a little cup of coffee last year. It's, you know, what, five or six games, seven games last year. And to get him healthy, you know, he's got stuff. And a lot of these guys might work better in short appearances instead of starting. And, you know, it's, it's completely wide open.

13:46You know, like I said, this isn't an area where the organization likes to spend their money. They were at a buildable kind of organically, which, you know, I understand it. You don't like to have a lot of money tied up in relievers. And, you know, they're giving you guys opportunities and it's really all you can ask for, but he definitely has an opportunity. And like you said yesterday, you look fantastic. So I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the opening day roster based on how he flipped this year. Dave Tovner, who writes for the SFGAD, he follows the giant. So a few more minutes on sports phone KBR. We look at the starting rotation. I think it's solid. It really do. But I think the biggest question to Dave is, how are they going to do with all these off days in the beginning of the year? They play the Yankees, they have an off day. They play two days. They have an off day. Then they play the Padres for three. I was looking at what they could do. And of Logan Webstays on his five day rotation. They're going to miss one or two of these guys. And if you're ramping them up through spring training, now you got to shut them down to five to seven days.

14:48That's going to be a big, big issue with starting pictures. How do you think they may do it? Yeah, I mean, it's a really the scheduling is so odd that you play and then you have a day off and another day off. It's just it doesn't do them any favors. And, you know, especially with a web who's been ranked up pitching in the WBC and you want to keep him. I'm assuming they would like to keep him on his regular five day schedule, just so he doesn't, you know, it's it's it's important to him to stay consistent and it's it's going to be tough. You know, it could benefit a guy like like Robbie Ray, who, you know, maybe they skip him to keep his arm fresh, because you know, he's, you know, he's only what two years removed from from John and, you know, the new guys they have, they don't have a lot of 200 inning guys. So, you know, they really only have one so it's I can see it working to their advantage at some point, but like you said, you want to keep these guys consistent and you don't want to sit too long and whether that means whether they have simulated games or, you know,

15:59something like that or they throw extended bull tens, but you don't want these guys, you want these guys in game conditions and you want them, you know, out there, you're ramped up for it. So the schedule's really not doing them any favors and it's going to be some interesting interesting to see because I don't think they're going to skip web. I don't think they would actually skip Ray, even though it might be the best thing for his arm. So it's it's going to propose a big, a big issue in the beginning and it's going to be interesting to see how they, how they, how they do that, how they react to that. Dave, as we finish up here on Sportsphone K and B are in the next two weeks, what do you want to see how the pitching staff do you want to see certain pictures in the bullpen battling for a position is there one guy that you're like, hey, this is my dark horse to be in the bullpen. What do you want to see out of this giant pitching staff? Well, I really like Pagaro and I was really, you know, it was too bad that he got hurt because he really looked like he could make some noise and he had a big weapon for them. But, you know, what I'd like to see, I'm interested in how Haven bird song and person wasn't come along.

17:06Bird song, especially, looked really impressive last year when they were using him in kind of that swing man, you know, three warnings roll and he just would come in and he would just dominate. I almost reminded me of how Cleveland used to use Andrew Miller and that's a, that's a really valuable. Yeah, you know, it's, it's one of those things, it's a nice luxury to have if you have a guy like that. So, you know, he struggled as a starter and, you know, it just could, could be that his future role is kind of that swing man type that can get you three or four innings, kind of bridged you to the back of your bullpen and, and go from there. And with him, you know, the same thing, you know, he's a really hyped prospect was the number one left handed prospect and baseball, I think more than maybe two years ago. And, you know, he seems to be throwing hard. He's got his velocity back. There's really no spot for him in the rotation right now. But, you know, as well as I do, they're not going to, they're going to use more than five starters over the course of the season.

18:10So, if he can make some noise in the bullpen and show that he's, you know, over the issues that were kind of plaguing him when he had that cup of coffee, he could be a really important guy too. So, if those two hyped prospects, you know, they're kind of like post-hyped prospects now because they both had their struggles and it's going to be interesting to see how, how they respond. So, I'm, I'm really curious to see how birdsong was in hunting. Those are the two guys that are, are most intriguing to me. Well, Dave, thank you so much for your time this evening. And we're going to have more conversations as a season progresses and it's always great talking to you. Looking forward to it, Bill. Thanks a lot. That was Dave Tolner. You can read his work on SF Gate. More coming up right here on KNBR, these sports leaders.