SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, March 24, 2018

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1 SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, March 24, 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Giants without Madison Bumgarner: Here we go again John Shea Early in spring training, I spoke with Madison Bumgarner about the trend of starting pitchers falling short of 200 innings, and his expression made me think he was going to strangle me. Trend this, he probably was thinking. Regardless, I asked him anyway. I asked if his goal this year was to throw 200 innings. Well, more than that, he shot back. That s the minimum. Anybody would tell you the same. Not anybody. There s no pitcher in the game who s more old school than Bumgarner, who wants to stay on the mound more, who detests a call to the bullpen more, who takes it more personally when he s forced to give up the ball. Well, he s forced again. For the second straight year, Bumgarner will miss a good chunk of the season with an injury, this one a broken left pinkie. And for the second straight year, the Giants will have a tough time trying to recover. This is a team that has the majors worst record since the 2016 All-Star break (94-140). That finished last in a division that sent three teams to the playoffs. That failed to respond after Bumgarner s dirt-bike accident in April. 1

2 That chose not to add starting pitchers in the offseason beyond Derek Holland. They already lost No. 3 Jeff Samardzija to a strained pectoral muscle that will cost him most or all of April. Ladies and gentlemen, your Giants rotation for 2018: Johnny Cueto and Johnny Wholestaff. Chris Stratton and Ty Blach were supposed to be the supplemental pieces, the fourth and fifth starters, and now they ll be relied on to pitch in the middle of a rotation that might not scare many foes. The Giants open the season at Dodger Stadium against a team out to defend its league championship with this rotation: Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood, Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu. That fivesome made 126 starts last year for a rotation that sported the league s lowest ERA, The Giants was We re not saying the Giants can t recover from the loss of Bumgarner (and Samardzija), but they didn t prove it last year when given the chance. On the flip side, this is a different bunch. The offense and defense are better with the additions of Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria, and the bullpen figures to be deeper with lefty Tony Watson aboard, lefty Will Smith available in early May and, presumably, closer Mark Melancon more like his old self. Still, Bumgarner is the leader and most important person on the staff, just as Buster Posey is the leader and most important person in the lineup. We saw what Bumgarner s absence did to the team last year, just like Posey s in Seeing Bumgarner in a sling in April after he hurt his shoulder and ribs in the dirt-bike accident was a rare sight. It was new territory for someone who had been the game s most durable pitcher, who averaged 213 innings the previous six years. That doesn t count his work in four postseasons, including his fearless effort in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series when he pitched the final five innings on two days of rest. Last year was his fault. He made a bad decision. He fessed up. This year isn t his fault. No one can blame a pitcher for getting hit on the bare hand when there s no time to avoid a sizzling liner. It s not like he instinctively stuck out his hand to stop the ball. It was a scorcher right toward his chest, and he put up both hands as if to protect himself. 2

3 It s hard to control your reactions when something s happening that fast, he said. Bumgarner was not on the disabled list before being shelved last season, and now he s heading there again with a fractured left metacarpal. When I saw the play and heard the damage, I couldn t help but think of our conversation early in training camp. Bumgarner was pooh-poohing how the game is shifting toward pulling the starter earlier, bullpenning and even six-man rotations, all the things that take away from what Bumgarner enjoys most about pitching. Staying on the mound. Especially when it matters most in October. A lot of stuff sounds good on paper, he said. I think there s a place for it, but I don t think it is going to take over the game, by no means. It s hard for me to say because that s not what I do and study. Bumgarner will need to wait until next year to make another run at 200-plus innings. It ll be the final year of his contract, maybe his last go-round with the Giants, and he ll want to return to his old durable self. But first, there s the matter of Getting healed, getting back on the mound and getting outs. Here we go again. Bumgarner looked fantastic all month and was motivated to dominate opponents all season, beginning with his face-off against Kershaw in the opener. This was supposed to be a long, rewarding season. Instead, it ll be another abbreviated one. For Bumgarner, there s nothing worse than getting pulled early. San Francisco Chronicle Giants Madison Bumgarner fractures pitching hand after being hit by line drive Henry Schulman SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Players almost always complain that spring training is too long. For the Giants, theirs needed to be one day shorter, because the final game Friday cost them their Opening Day starter. With their plane waiting on the tarmac at Sky Harbor International Airport, just needing to get through nine more innings of practice baseball, Madison Bumgarner sustained a displaced fracture on the pinkie knuckle of his pitching hand when he was hit by a Whit Merrifield line drive in the third inning of the Giants 9-6 loss to the Royals. 3

4 Bumgarner will have pins inserted into his hand to stabilize the fracture in the fifth metacarpal. Though the club provided no official prognosis, Bumgarner said he was told the pins would remain in his hand for at least four weeks, which means his recovery could be measured in months, not weeks. This is horrible news for us, manager Bruce Bochy said. That s all you can say about it. There s nothing you can do but push on. As players rushed to dress for the flight to San Francisco, normally a happy occasion a few days ahead of the season opener, the pall inside the Giants clubhouse was palpable. We can t say everything is OK right now, said Nick Hundley, who was catching Bumgarner. We ve got to process it over the next 24 hours, then move on. Shortly before the bus left for the airport, Bumgarner walked into the clubhouse with his hand and wrist wrapped. He spoke in his usual monotone when he said he needed to look at the bright side: This injury is not as threatening as his separated shoulder last year, the result of his dirt-bike crash, which cost him three months. It s tough, but I can handle it, Bumgarner said. These guys can handle it. I think we ll be fine. It s obviously not what I was expecting out of my last start, but it s what happened, so now we ve got to deal with it. And the Giants have to deal with not one, but two bruising blows to a rotation that was already thin on experienced depth. Bumgarner was hurt one day after No. 3 starter Jeff Samardzija was diagnosed with a strained pectoral muscle on his right side. Samardzija hopes to begin throwing in about a week, but as for his return, Bochy said, We re looking at three weeks, maybe a month. The Giants enter the season with four healthy starters: Johnny Cueto, Chris Stratton, Ty Blach and Derek Holland, who has not officially won a job but clearly will be part of the rotation. Bochy and his staff planned to discuss the rotation order on the flight home. The Giants can go with a four-man rotation the first three turns, thanks to days off. But it seems they now will have to dip into their farm system for a prospect such as Tyler Beede to help in long relief initially, then join the rotation in mid-april. That is, unless the Giants sign a free agent or trade for a pitcher. Bumgarner was not supposed to throw many innings in his final tuneup for Thursday s opener at Dodger Stadium, perhaps five. 4

5 He had allowed a Cheslor Cuthbert homer in the second inning. Merrifield led off the third. Merrifield and Bumgarner grew up in North Carolina. They played against one another as kids. Merrifield s liner was headed toward Bumgarner s chest. Bumgarner raised his left hand instinctively to protect himself before the ball hit him in the hand. Bumgarner initially chased the ball to the right of the mound and tried unsuccessfully to pick it up. He then walked behind the mound with his back to the plate. Bochy and head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner slowly walked to the mound. Once they arrived, they wasted no time removing Bumgarner, who walked toward the dugout with Groeschner. Later, Bumgarner said he knew it was broken immediately. In hindsight, he wishes he had just let the ball strike his chest. Bumgarner was completing a great spring training. He was sharp and healthy, with no lingering effects of his shoulder separation from April s dirt-bike crash. He entered Friday s game with a 2.84 ERA in five starts, with 27 strikeouts in 19 innings. It s just a downer, Bochy said. We know what he means for us, but also where he was, how well he was throwing all spring. But we ve been through it. We saw (last year) what can happen when we don t have him. We can t let that happen again. It s got to be up to us to keep our heads up and press on. There s nothing else you can do. These are the bad things you ve got to deal with in baseball. San Francisco Chronicle How Giants pitching will look without Bumgarner, Samardzija Henry Schulman SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - On Friday morning, when all was still right in the Giants world, or mostly so, their rotation became clear. Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Derek Holland (in Jeff Samardzija's place) and Chris Stratton would start the four games in the season-opening series against the Dodgers. Manager Bruce Bochy then would have the option of using Ty Blach as the fifth starter or skip that spot twice, taking advantage of two well-placed off days. Those plans were fractured along with Madison Bumgarner's left hand Friday. It's not clear who will start Thursday's opener. Cueto can be in line for it if the Giants revert to 5

6 Plan A and have him pitch in Sacramento on Saturday night. Earlier Friday he was relieved of that duty and instead penciled in for Sunday's Bay Bridge Series opener at Oakland. No matter how the four starters line up, the Giants are going to become a very bullpendependent team. They were anyway, but now, even more so. They were leaning toward carrying 13 pitches to start the year. That includes nine relievers assuming a four-man rotation at the outset. Eight of those jobs seem set with right-handers Mark Melancon, Sam Dyson, Hunter Strickland, Cory Gearrin and Rule 5 youngster Julian Fernandez. The two lefties, assuming Blach as the fourth starter, would be Tony Watson and Josh Osich. The Giants would dip into the farm system for the eighth and ninth pitchers, maybe promoting Tyler Beede to be another long reliever in one spot. The names could change with a pitcher from the outside. The Giants were leaning against a trade, signing a free agent or picking from the leftovers from other teams who do not make those rosters, a process lovingly called "dumpster diving" in the industry. The Giants might have to rethink the strategy now. In any case, they must find a way to win games without Samardzija for probably a month and Bumgarner for likely twice that. "We want both of those guys to step in and not worry about us being so far back," Holland said. Third baseman Evan Longoria raised another strategy. Just outhit the competition. "Offensively, I think we're equipped for it," Longoria said. "We can put up some runs." Parker cut: The Bumgarner injury overshadowed a significant development on the position side. The Giants have told last year's Opening Day left fielder, Jarrett Parker, that he would not make the team. There will be no official announcement until he clears waivers. "We talked to Parker," Bochy said. "He knows the situation." Parker was the Giants 2010 second-round draft pick out of the University of Virginia. That move left Gregor Blanco, Gorkys Hernandez and Steven Duggar in the mix for what probably will be one backup outfield spot. Brandon Belt would become a de facto fifth outfielder. He played left field Friday and, along with Duggar, let a ball that should have been caught fall between them 6

7 The Giants did announce they had released infield candidate Andres Blanco, leaving Kelby Tomlinson and nonroster invitee Josh Rutledge in the mix for the final infield spot. Pablo Sandoval, who is assured of a job, homered in Friday's Cactus League finale. San Francisco Chronicle Giants and A s are on the clock for franchise-altering seasons, decisions John Shea Every baseball season brings optimism, a rebirth, an undying faith, a rite of spring. In the Bay Area, it s about a lot more than all that mushy stuff. It s about a possible franchise-altering season for the Giants and A s after they finished in last place in the same year for the first time in their West Coast history, the Giants going back 60 years and the A s 50. Both will begin 2018 with much on the line. I feel we need to produce, we need to win, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. We set the bar pretty high here in San Francisco. A s manager Bob Melvin said, It s important we move in the right direction this year. It s all around a big year for the organization. Many factors are in play, including the contracts of the chief decision-makers. The teams leadership has been in place for more than two decades, Brian Sabean taking over the Giants baseball department in 1996 and Billy Beane assuming control of the A s a year later. Both of their contracts expire after the 2019 season, along with the contracts of general managers Bobby Evans and David Forst and both managers. Also The Giants are coming off a season, their worst in 32 years. They didn t fulfill their desire to get younger, but acquired three veteran hitters and will count on one of the majors oldest lineups to help orchestrate an epic turnaround. They made changes in their coaching staff and minor-league philosophies. Fans, after starting to lose interest last summer, need to be won over again. The A s are coming off three last-place finishes, a first in Oakland, and are relying on their latest youth movement, this one more encouraging than the last. They had the majors second-worst attendance and say they ll have another ballpark proposal by the end of the year after their plans to build near Laney College got nixed. 7

8 All signs point to 2018 as a pivotal year by the bay. A s hungry to win, but will they stay together to do so? Until we get a new venue, we constantly hit the reset button as far as players, so every year is a little bit of Groundhog Day, Beane said. If there s a sense of urgency, it s getting the venue straightened out, and this is the most proactive we ve been since I ve been here. Beane considers the current group of young hitters starting with Matt Olson and Matt Chapman the deepest since Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada and Eric Chavez ushered in the early 2000s. But that might mean nothing if we sit here in three or four years with no venue and talk like this again, said Beane, noting revenue generated by a new park would allow the A s to keep their best players long term. Everything is predicated on that. Sabean, directed by ownership after 98 losses to return to running the day-to-day operations, suggested the Giants downturn coincided with a shift in the National League West s balance of power, with the wild-card Diamondbacks and Rockies joining the division-champion Dodgers in the playoffs. As such, it s one of the most competitive divisions in baseball, Sabean said. That s the way I look at it. The other stuff really doesn t apply. We could ve had a hell of a year last year and, as a result of those three other teams, not gone to the playoffs. You tip your cap and hope to get off to a good start to show these folks not only you re competing but challenging them as well. Ownership is at the forefront, too. The Giants group, featuring largest share holder Charles Johnson and CEO Larry Baer, not to mention 30-some other investors, trimmed payroll to stay under the $197 million luxury tax threshold rather than face stiff penalties as a four-time offender. The A s, run by forever frugal John Fisher, have another shoestring budget and tiny payroll, about $70 million. Dave Kaval, beginning his second season as team president, has made some nice cosmetic changes, but his legacy will be based on whether he can secure a stadium deal. A s shortstop Marcus Semien, the most-tenured player on the team (just three years), sees ownership possibly keeping the young core intact. Regardless, he said it s time to turn around the A s fortunes. When you re in last place three years in a row after being a playoff contender, you start to get fed up with it, Semien said. We have the right group. If we get off to a good start and win a bunch of games, whatever the attendance is, if we can open some eyes, the Coliseum will be the place to be. 8

9 On the flip side, it s hard for any current players to imagine being around when/if a new park opens. I mean, they re saying 2023, that s a long time, Semien said. Then you re talking about the guys like (22-year-old prospect Jorge) Mateo and the guys we re just drafting now who ll be in their prime in Like Semien, Giants first baseman Brandon Belt is focusing on the here and now, not the supplementary circumstances that put both franchises on notice. I don t know if I look at it as widely as that, Belt said. Last year was not fun at all. It makes you realize how much you love winning. That s the main point for me. I want to play winning baseball because it s just more fun. It s definitely a little different around here because there are different faces, different voices. But to me, the goal is still the same. To go out there and win championships. Winning is the cure-all. Bochy, whose three World Series titles and 1,853 wins have carved a likely path to the Hall of Fame, called 2017 his toughest year, not just because of his latest heart issue that required his second ablation procedure. By all accounts, he s healthy and ready to compete in I m as competitive as anybody, Bochy said. I didn t have a lot of fun with 98 losses. I m hungrier than ever to be back to the postseason and get another shot at winning the championship. I m not going to let one year define who we are or who I am. I m not going to beat myself up. That s behind us. If this is Bochy s (and Sabean s) final run at a title, it ll be done with mostly proven hitters. Andrew McCutchen, Evan Longoria and Austin Jackson have joined the likes of Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Belt, and Tony Watson was added to a bullpen that appears deeper, especially if closer Mark Melancon shows he overcame pronator surgery. The rotation has a lot to prove after Madison Bumgarner s dirt-bike accident and Johnny Cueto s injuries helped sink the Giants. In a rare leap of faith, they re relying on two largely unproven pitchers, Chris Stratton and Ty Blach, to fill rotation spots. That window of opportunity, it s there only so long when you have a core group close to being the same age, Bochy said. Let s be honest here. It s not always going to be here. Players understand that, too. You try to take full advantage of it as much as you can. We had a hiccup last year. It shows how difficult winning can be. At the same time, we didn t think we were far from being back on track. We re all going into the season full of optimism and with a sense of determination to get back to who we are. 9

10 Melvin has similar sentiments, having guided the A s to three straight playoff appearances before they turned into also-rans. The rotation might be thin, but the lineup and bullpen could be productive, and the 17-7 finish and winning September created momentum. The last three years didn t sit well with anybody, Melvin said. Now you have this group you ve been waiting for, that came last year and had some success, it s important we move in the right direction. As far as the stadium goes, you re trying to keep these guys, but a lot of that revolves around the revenue streams. Therefore, the ballpark is a big issue for us this year. Is 2018 a make-or-break year for both teams? A year in which established and beloved folks are on the hot seat? That s to be determined. Let s just say neither the Giants nor A s can afford another year like San Jose Mercury News Kurtenbach: Why Madison Bumgarner s injury might have ended the Giants season before it began Dieter Kurtenbach The San Francisco Giants already had their work cut out for them this season. After an aging team lost 98 games last year, the Giants eschewed a full rebuild and went to Spring Training with a few new veteran faces, and a big ol goal: making the postseason in In the National League West a division that has the dominant Dodgers and put three teams in the playoffs last year that s daunting ask. It was, no doubt, going to take a charmed season and an inspired, full-force effort across the Giants roster. So when two of the Giants three-best starting pitchers from an already suspect rotation go down with injuries in the final two days of Spring Training in Arizona, I feel it s fair to get down on San Francisco s prospects for the 2018 campaign. And if the Giants don t reach their goal making the playoffs this year, that opens up a Pandora s box of possibilities, with few good options flying out. When Giants No. 3 starter Jeff Samardzija went down with a pectoral injury on Thursday, I felt that my initial, knee-jerk dourness towards the Giants chances to make the playoffs this season was disproportionate. Yes, the Shark is a good pitcher, and yes, the rotation was already relying on two unproven starters before the injury, but it s not like the Giants didn t lose their ace or anything. Then, on Friday, they did, when Madison Bumgarner was hit with a comebacker in his left, pitching hand, breaking his fifth metatarsal (also known as his pinky). 10

11 The baseball season is long and unpredictable, but forgive me for thinking that with these injuries, and particularly Bumgarner s, the Giants season with its singular possible success is over before it even began. Let me explain: Samardzija is expected back in three to four weeks so that s late April or early May and Bumgarner has no timetable for his return, though he is having surgery Saturday to place pins in this hand, which will remain in place for four to six weeks. After the pins are removed, he won t be able to simply pick up a ball and throw it 93 miles per hour, but the recovery time is unknown Bumgarner is hoping it s before the All-Star Game. But will the Giants have anything to play for by the time Bumgarner returns, lets say in eight to 10 weeks? Getting out to a fast start has been a talking point for the Giants all of Spring Training, and for good reason: last year San Francisco was seven games back in the division by the end of April and 10 games back by May 9. In effort to re-establish themselves as a top team again in the early goings of the 2018 season, the not-so-well-kept secret was that the Giants were going to use the team s multiple off days to start Bumgarner in three of the team s first nine games. A fast start might not be a clear-cut, no-negociation imperative for the Giants all the games count the same, after all but the idea wasn t being discussed by players and coaches as a hobby. A strong start to the season was particularly important for the Giants because of the difficulty of their schedule in the opening weeks: they have three separate series against the Dodgers before the end of April, in addition to two series against the Diamondbacks, and one each against both the Nationals and Angels. That might be toughest early-season schedule in all of baseball, and if the Giants played well against those opponents, it would no doubt creat a momentum or at least a belief that could carry them far. How likely do you think that momentum is created now? At the moment, the Giants head into the season with a four-man pitching rotation of Johnny Cueto, Ty Blach, Chris Stratton, and Derek Holland. Cueto might be a solid pitcher, but unless he s going to tap back into his Cincinnati form, he s no longer a true No. 1 starter. Blach and Stratton might both have plenty of upside, but both are also unproven. The Giants rotation was already a question mark when they were the fourth 11

12 and fifth starters now they re No. 2 and No. 3. And Holland might have earned himself a job with a nice spring, but he had a 6.20 ERA last season and a 5.50 ERA over the last three years. We don t know who the Giants fifth starter even is though they re unlikely to need one until April 10, based on the way the schedule shapes out. That said, San Francisco might be a veteran free agent who was recently cut from a camp to fill out the rotation. The Giants broke camp feeling good about their bullpen and lineup as they should but this bullpen isn t strong enough to handle the tax this team s starting pitching is about to impose (no bullpen is), and the lineup, while solid, is still heavily comprised of players who helped the Giants finish last in baseball in home runs and OPS last year (this is a reminder improved doesn t mean great). This is a team that was looking at a.500 record fully healthy. It was a squad that could have realistically found some luck and squeezed out the few extra victories necessary to finish the season with 87 wins, the magic number to make the playoffs as a Wild Card in the National League over the last few years. Again, a big ask, but possible. But without Bumgarner for an extended period of time and Samardzija eating innings for roughly a month, wins are coming off the board, and that makes it that much harder to envision the already unlikely scenario where the Giants are playing in October. The 2018 season is a make-or-break year for the Giants as we know them. Can they weather the storm for the next few weeks and make something out of this campaign? Or was it broken along with Bumgarner s pinky on Friday? San Francisco s ownership group and front office considered a full, burn-it-down rebuild during and after last season s 98-loss debacle. Both parties opted against it because of contractual obligations, business interests, and the belief that this World Series-winning core still could produce. If the hellacious early-season schedule and a now far-less-than-trustworthy rotation effectively ends the Giants season before Memorial Day again how will that conversation go in 2018? San Jose Mercury News Add Bumgarner s injury to list of painful, sometimes bizarre spring training injuries Jon Becker What s so magical and romantic about spring training baseball again? The fractured left hand Madison Bumgarner suffered Friday was a painful reminder to many 12

13 players of just how cruel the rites of spring can be. You only have to take a quick glance around the Giants clubhouse to find a few sympathetic souls who know how Bumgarner must be feeling. Like starter Jeff Samardzija, who just Thursday found out he ll be sidelined at least a month with a strained pectoral muscle. Like reliever Will Smith, who discovered last spring training he needed season-ending Tommy John surgery. Like presumed starter Derek Holland, who had to have season-ending microfracture knee surgery when his dog tripped him while the two were playing in his house before spring training in And how about Hunter Pence, who has twice has endured painful injuries during spring training? Giants fans may still wince when thinking how Pence s forearm was fractured when he was hit by a pitch in 2015, but they may not recall his earlier, more embarrassing spring training injury. The eccentric Pence was in his second year in the majors with the Astros in 2008 when he accidentally jumped through a glass door in his apartment that he didn t realize was closed while heading out to his hot tub. Although he wound up in the emergency room with cuts on his hands and knees, it could have been worse he missed just a week. A look back in Giants spring training history shows even the great Willie Mays wasn t immune to spring s cruelty. In the Giants second spring training while in San Francisco in 1959, Mays leg was cut open when he collided with the catcher while trying to score. He returned from the hospital with stitches and missed two weeks of action. It s also more than worth mentioning how former Giant Kevin Mitchell once showed up to spring training four days late. His excuse? He was recovering from an emergency root canal after he injured his tooth while eating a microwaved donut. Before you get the idea the Giants are the only team getting dinged in the spring, we re reminded of how a couple of Hall of Famers had their seasons ruined during Grapefruit League games. Chipper Jones famously tore his knee up once, wiping out his 1994 season. And a severe hamstring injury caused Ken Griffey Jr. to miss the first three months of the 2001 season. Let s not exclude the A s from this discussion. Over the weekend, they lost No. 3 starter Jharel Cotton to Tommy John surgery and Brentwood s Paul Blackburn just found out he ll be sidelined with a strained right forearm. Plus, any chance of top pitching prospect A.J. Puk saving 13

14 Oakland any time soon was hurt by the news of Puk s biceps soreness. A s outfielder Matt Joyce probably still has a scarred memory of how an elbow strain in 2011 spring training with the Rays caused him to miss three months of the season. Oft-injured pitcher Brett Anderson, who just rejoined the organization, had his season derailed two years ago while with the Dodgers, when his back gave out on him in spring training. You d also find spring victims in the A s coaches room. Ex-Giant and new A s third base coach Matt Williams broke his foot in 2000 when he fouled a ball off of it. Two years later, Williams tripped over his own two feet and suffered a broken leg. More recently, A s quality control coach Mark Kotsay s troublesome back was re-injured in 2007, causing him to miss the first two months of the season. Even longtime A s announcer and onetime catcher Ray Fosse has a spring horror story to share. During his first spring training with the Brewers, Fosse tripped in a hole while running down the first base line, causing multiple leg injuries, the worst of which required the reconstruction of a knee ligament. Fosse missed the entire season and then could only manage to play 19 games in 1979, his last year in the big leagues. A word of warning to ballplayers about next spring training: Enter at your own risk. San Jose Mercury News Madison Bumgarner suffers fracture, out indefinitely Kerry Crowley SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. With six days remaining until the start of the regular season, the Giants pitching rotation is suddenly in shambles. The latest blow came Friday, and it was the biggest. Madison Bumgarner, who was scheduled to start Opening Day, broke a bone in his pitching hand and is out for at least a month, probably longer. He joins Jeff Smardzija, who likely will miss a month after being diagnosed Thursday with a strain of his right pectoral. Bumgarner, in the third inning of his final spring training tuneup, was struck on the left hand by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City Royals leadoff hitter Whit Merrifield. The official word: a displacement of the fifth metacarpal, the bone that leads from the hand to the pinky finger. Bumgarner, 28, is scheduled to undergo surgery Saturday to have pins placed in the hand, and said he ll likely have the pins removed in four-to-six weeks. The Giants ace will not be able to throw until the pins are taken out, so his rehab will begin, at the earliest, around the end of April. 14

15 It s tough, Bumgarner said, but I can handle it and these guys can handle it. I think I ll be fine but it s obviously not what I was expecting out of my last start, but it s what happens and now I ve got to deal with it. Giants manager Bruce Bochy called it horrible news. It s just a downer. This was his short day and really I feel for him. We know what he means to us. But where he was, how well he was throwing the ball all spring, unfortunately you ve got to deal with these things. Bumgarner said there was no way around the surgery. Got to do that in the morning and hopefully it heals the way it s supposed to and gets back quick. Bumgarner missed nearly half of last season after separating the shoulder in his pitching arm when he fell off a dirt bike in Colorado last April. He said Friday he does not consider this injury as threatening as the one that sent him to the disabled list for the first time in his career, and expects to return prior to the All-Star break. This is not near as big a deal, Bumgarner said. It s your pinky and knuckle, it s just got to heal up, it s basically it. As for Samardzija, he won t throw for the next week, Bochy said, but could be back in the rotation within the next month. Bochy said the Giants have yet to determine who will make the Opening Day start in Los Angeles on Thursday, but Johnny Cueto is the most likely candidate. The rest of the rotation: Chris Stratton, Ty Blach and Derek Holland. The Giants won t need a fifth starter until April 10. Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez, two prospects preparing to start the season at Triple-A Sacramwento, now now candidates to make the Major League roster. There s no replacing Madison, obviously, third baseman Evan Longoria said. But the guys have thrown well, some of them have thrown deep into games. We have a couple of guys at the Triple-A level that are pretty close to being ready too and we ll probably lean on those guys more than we would. Another avenue the Giants could take toward adding pitching depth is combing through the names of players who will be released by other clubs in the coming days. With several teams still weighing roster decisions, the Giants may look to add a starting pitcher who will soon be released by another franchise. The Giants clubhouse was understandably disappointed with the news of Bumgarner s injury, especially considering his extended absence played a hand in the team s disastrous

16 season. Nick Hundley, Bumgarner s catcher Friday, said he hadn t had time to process the magnitude of the injury. We ll process it in the next 24 hours and move on, but you can t not feel emotion about it, he said. You want him to be OK, but that s not the case. These are two heavyweights that have carried this team, Holland said of Bumgarner and Samaradzija. I would like to hope that I ve earned my way to get in here and not because of what happened to these guys. I don t want to take anything away from them, they ve accomplished so much and to see it come down to the last day for Bummy today, that sucks. The injuries to Bumgarner and Samardzija will impact the way the Giants ultimately construct their roster at the beginning of the year. After Samardzija s diagnosis, Bochy said the club was considering carrying 13 pitchers and 12 position players, which would leave the team with just four outfielders. Given the growing level of uncertainty at the top of the team s starting rotation, it s difficult to envision the club starting the year with just 12 pitchers. San Jose Mercury News Giants narrow infield competition, release Andrés Blanco Kerry Crowley SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. The competition for the Giants final reserve infielder spot could come down to the wire, and Friday, the club determined 10-year Major League veteran Andrés Blanco won t be involved. The Giants announced they released Blanco prior to the start of the team s final Cactus League game against the Kansas City Royals. Blanco arrived in spring training with an infection on his leg that forced him to miss the first week and a half of games. After Blanco was healthy enough to play, he recorded seven hits in 19 at-bats, but didn t have enough time to push Kelby Tomlinson and Josh Rutledge for one of the last spots on the Giants bench. The competition between Tomlinson and Rutledge remains ongoing, as Rutledge will start at shortstop Friday while Tomlinson will play second base. Rutledge said Friday morning that he didn t believe he had an out clause in the Minor League contract he signed with San Francisco, which means he can continue battling with Tomlinson through Tuesday when the Giants wrap up an exhibition series with the Oakland A s. 16

17 I feel like this spring has been pretty good, Rutledge said. The main thing for me has just kind of been getting back out there and just feeling healthy. Getting some good innings under my belt. One of the keys for Rutledge if he hopes to outlast Tomlinson is proving he can be a competent backup shortstop to starter Brandon Crawford. With Pablo Sandoval capable of providing depth at first and third base, the Giants need a utility player who can handle grounders at shortstop and second base. Rutledge has appeared in 137 career games as a shortstop, and said Friday it s his natural position. That was my natural position up until a few years ago and then I haven t played it as much, Rutledge said. Getting back over there was a little bit of a change at first but definitely starting to feel a lot more comfortable. Rutledge arrived in camp as a non-roster invitee while Tomlinson boasted three years of experience as a backup on the Giants 25-man roster. Tomlinson still has a Minor League option available, but if Rutledge opens the season on the Opening Day roster, the Giants would need to clear a 40-man roster spot for him. The Giants may also consider alternatives from other organizations, as few teams have set their rosters. More players will be released in the coming days, but the Phillies have already cut ties with Adam Rosales while the Twins let go of Erick Aybar. Parker s chances dropping Giants outfielder Jarrett Parker did not take batting practice with the team on Thursday and was not listed on the lineup sheet for Friday s game. Barring an injury to another outfielder in the coming days, it is unlikely Parker makes the Opening Day roster. Because he s out of Minor League options, the Giants would need to designate Parker for assignment, clearing a 40-man roster spot. MLB.com SF gets bad injury news on MadBum, Shark Chris Haft SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The satisfaction of breaking Spring Training camp yielded to a sickening feeling among the Giants on Friday when ace left-hander Madison Bumgarner sustained a fracture on the fifth metacarpal of his pitching hand, which he said will sideline him for at least four to six weeks. 17

18 The injury, which resulted from a third-inning line drive hit by Kansas City's Whit Merrifield, probably won't idle Bumgarner through the mid-july All-Star break, but he cannot throw a baseball until he undergoes removal of a pin that will be inserted in his hand on Saturday. That must remain in place for close to four weeks to provide stability. After that, Bumgarner will need at least a couple of weeks to rebuild arm strength. "Obviously, I'm not a doctor or a trainer," Bumgarner said after the Giants' 9-6 loss. "It's just info I'm gathering." Bumgarner's misfortune alone was stunning enough for a Giants ballclub that pinned much of its hope for 2018 upon him. However, it was paired with the news that right-hander Jeff Samardzija, San Francisco's No. 3 starting pitcher, would miss three to five weeks with a strained right pectoral muscle. Losing one starter, particularly the ace, is bad enough for any ballclub. Losing two starters for an extended period threatens to blunt the Giants' momentum before the season even begins. "It's tough, but I can handle it," said Bumgarner, adding that he knew immediately that his hand was fractured. "These guys can handle it. This obviously was not what I was expecting out of my last start. But it happened, and I can deal with it." Said left-hander Derek Holland, "This is devastating to see something like this happen." Merrifield said he has been trying to get in contact with Bumgarner since leaving the game in Scottsdale and learning of the fracture late Friday afternoon. "I feel awful, this coming in his last start of the spring. Obviously there was no intent," Merrifield said. "I just feel terrible. He's my kind of player, my kind of pitcher. He goes out there and grinds and does whatever it takes to win. I loved watching him pitch." The Giants learned what life was like without Bumgarner last year, when he was sidelined for three months following a dirt-bike mishap during a scheduled off-day in Denver on April 20. Bumgarner sustained bruised ribs and a sprained left shoulder which sidelined him for three months. The Giants sank into last place in the National League West en route to a finish, their second-worst record since "I think we saw what can happen," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We've got to bow our necks and play our best ball until these guys get back." The quality of Bumgarner's five previous Cactus League performances made his injury all the more frustrating. He entered Friday with a 2.84 ERA, 27 strikeouts and three walks in 19 innings and a.217 opponents' batting average. Given the jolting events of the previous 24 hours, the Giants hadn't had time to re-shape their 18

19 starting rotation. But it's virtually certain that right-hander Johnny Cueto will ascend to the top of the rotation and inherit Bumgarner's Opening Day start Thursday at Los Angeles. Chris Stratton, Holland and Ty Blach will complete the foursome that the Giants will use through most of April. Rookies Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez also will be considered for promotion, though with five scheduled off-days in April, the Giants will rarely need a fifth starter at the season's outset. However, the Giants didn't lose merely pitchers. They lost symbols. In Bumgarner, the Giants lost their top starter who became a legend with his record-setting durability in the 2014 postseason. In Samardzija, they lost a workhorse. Only Samardzija and the Nationals' Max Scherzer have eclipsed the 200-inning mark for five consecutive seasons. "These are two heavyweights that have carried the team," said Holland, who's in nine Major League seasons. "'Bummy' today, that sucks.... It's up to me. I gotta do what I can to help this team and keep everything going in our direction." MLB.com Longoria brings consistent excellence to Giants Chris Haft SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Giants have quickly learned what makes third baseman Evan Longoria a special performer. He's dynamic with the bat, capable of consistently spraying line drives all over the field. And he's graceful with his glove, turning challenging plays into routine ones. The Giants knew that Christian Arroyo, their former top third-base prospect, could match Longoria's multifaceted excellence... someday. Intent on returning to the postseason as soon as possible and needing an already accomplished star, the Giants sent four players, including Arroyo, to the Rays for Longoria last Dec. 20. The Giants reasoned that Longoria, 32, represents a significant upgrade at third base, where they started nine players last year. Left field, where the Giants had 12 different starters, was their only position more widely populated. Longoria also has the potential to bolster the No. 5 hole in the batting order, which he's expected to occupy primarily. Giants hitters amassed 20 homers and 91 RBIs from that spot last year, which sounds good, until you learn that the respective National League averages were 28 and

20 Longoria has 162-game averages of 29 home runs and 101 RBIs over his first 10 seasons. "He's always been a tough out," said Giants left-hander Derek Holland, who faced Longoria during his nine seasons with the Rangers and White Sox. "I've joked around with him. I'm the type of person who talks to everybody anyway, so every time I talked to him, I'd say, 'I can't get you out. What is it, do you see grapefruits when I throw?'" Longoria owns a.343 batting average (12-for-35) with five doubles, four homers and 11 RBIs against Holland. Switching from the American League to the NL could potentially be a challenge for Longoria. But the three-time All-Star isn't concerned. "There definitely is some level of comfort when you have faced those [opposing pitchers] a lot," Longoria said. "But that's the great thing about our team, is that we have a ton of veterans, guys who have been in the division for a long time who know how guys are going to be pitched.... "There's going to need to be a level of trust from me to be able to say, 'I haven't seen this guy,' but I'm going to trust my teammates, and guys who have been here, that their assessment or scouting report is right.... Probably the first time through the league, there's probably going to be a lot more selective at-bats from me." NBC Sports Bay Area Bumgarner fractures bone in pitching hand in final tune-up before season Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO -- A day after the Giants lost one of the game's most durable pitchers, they took a much bigger blow. Madison Bumgarner fractured the fifth metacarpal in his pitching hand when he was hit by a line drive Friday in what was to be his final appearance before facing Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers on Opening Day. The Giants did not have an immediate timetable for how long their ace will be out, but he is expected to miss a significant portion of the season for a second straight year. The rotation is already without Jeff Samardzija for the first month of the season because of a strained pectoral. Bumgarner told reporters he will have surgery on Saturday to insert pins into his hand. He expects the pins to be removed in four-to-six weeks, and that he'll be able to pitch before the All-Star break. ESPN's Buster Olney reported that, in all, Bumgarner will be out for six-to-eight weeks. Bumgarner looked poised for a huge season, and he threw well all camp. He was injured when hit by a liner off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield. Ironically, Bumgarner and Merrifield 20

21 grew up close to each other in North Carolina, and Merrifield has told a story about getting beamed by an intimidating 11-year-old Bumgarner in little league. The Giants had little rotation depth coming into the season, and the group is now in shambles. Derek Holland, a non-roster invitee, may be the No. 2 starter. The Giants will also have to lean heavily on young pitchers Chris Stratton and Ty Blach. Johnny Cueto is the de facto ace, but he's coming off a down year and at times has struggled this spring. There are not many appealing options left in free agency and the Giants likely would have to go into the tax to sign one. Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez are the top in-house options. The Athletic Kawakami: The Giants shouldn't and won't tank 2018, but maybe they should begin the big rebuild very soon Tim Kawakami The Giants respect the 3.3 million fans who buy tickets to AT&T Park every year, so, yes, the Giants try to win. Which seems simple enough, but look at all those other MLB teams who haven't actually been trying so hard lately. The Giants pay full deference to Buster Posey's presence on this roster, and the three World Series rings generated in this bountiful era, so the Giants aren't the kind of franchise that ever thinks about tanking to set itself up for future years. The Giants run on the brains and willpower of Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy, two baseball lifers who would not dream of punting away a season before it ever started. All of this is baked into this franchise's DNA. They try to win, they fill the stadium. Every year. Every game. Which, in this odd and stratified period in baseball, separates the Giants from five or six tanking teams every season. Yes, even after last season's 98-loss shock to the system, the Giants refused to strip down their foundation and instead brought on several veterans to give this another run in All of this is honorable. All of this is everything fans should want out of their teams and everything star players can expect from management. All of this is why the Giants matter so much in this market and in the sport, generally. However Maybe it's time for a forced recalibration. Maybe this is the time the line drive that broke a bone in Madison Bumgarner's left hand today might have shifted everything for the Giants in 2018 and probably for longer than just that. 21

22 Maybe it's time for the Giants to accept the broad implications of what just happened, where they're headed, and how little they can do to stop it. OK, we know the Giants don't want to punt a season, and again, I have nothing but respect for that. We know that Sabean, Bochy and general manager Bobby Evans will want to scratch and battle through this and try to keep the team afloat while waiting for Jeff Samardzija to come back relatively soon and Bumgarner maybe in a few months. And the Giants should do that, really, because they have no other logical choice. They should and will see if a rotation of Johnny Cueto, Chris Stratton, Ty Blach, Derek Holland and I Don't Know Who Else can keep them afloat through the first month or so. They should and will hope that Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria will electrify the Giants offense and maybe they can win a slew of 7-5, 8-4 games. But not much of that feels like a team quite ready to put 2017 far behind them. Not much of that seems set up for the Giants to burst out of the gates, and remember, they play 11 of their first 26 games against the Dodgers, including the first four of the season. Let's be clear: I'm not suggesting that the Giants should already be thinking of tanking 2018 entirely. They couldn't purposely tank now even if they tried. No, what I'm proposing is more of an accidental tank and they started it last season, actually, when Bumgarner lost a big chunk of the season after his dirt bike accident and they lost all those games and earned the No. 2 overall pick in this June's MLB Draft. They didn't tank last season, but the result was the same. And they didn't try to tank this season which might produce something similar. What I'm suggesting is that this is absolutely not the time for the Giants to panic and make another short-term move, and this is definitely not the time to sacrifice any part of their future to try to pretend they can compete right now. This is assuredly not the time for the Giants to blow past the competitive balance tax line after they tiptoed so carefully and imaginatively to the brink of it this past offseason with all their moves. If the Giants can't compete right away starting next Thursday, their sights should focus squarely on 2019 and beyond, on resetting their CBT penalties to give themselves a longer financial runway into the future, on preparing to build around last year's first-round pick Heliot Ramos and then the No. 2 overall pick in the MLB Draft this June, and maybe on another top-5 pick in If the Giants can't compete in the first several weeks of this season, they should start thinking about the pieces they might be able to sell off at the trade deadline whether it's McCutchen, 22