Camp Notes Monday Edition

Mr. Jordan, Take a Bow

Around the third inning of Saturday’s camp games, there was a major line shift in the Triple-A game, as all of the Sacramento guys were pulled, to go pack up their gear and be ready to fly home with the major league roster as the team broke camp. That caused a confusing mass exodus from one of the games I was watching — Marco Luciano’s and Hunter Bishop’s spots in the order were suddenly filled by guys from the extended group, Juan Perez showed up behind the plate. A plethora of young kids heading for ACL action spent the rest of the day going up against Arizona’s upper-level arms (it didn’t go that well).

For an inveterate roster clue-gatherer like me, it was another opportunity to read the tea leaves. “Who went?” and “who stayed?” were questions ripe with potential meaning. For instance, Adrián Sugastey pulled up stakes with the Triple-A players and headed to Sacramento. With yesterday’s news that Sam Huff had won the backup catcher job and that Max Stassi would not be exercising his first opt out, it would seem to be clear that Sugastey will end up starting the year back in Richmond where he can get everyday work (with Stassi and Logan Porter forming the tandem in the squat for the River Cats). But I do think that this was an indication of how much Sugastey has impressed the Giants’ coaching staff with his receiving skills this spring. And I think it tells us that, had Stassi opted out, the team brass might well have been satisfied with Sugastey being the second catcher at the highest level. Despite his struggles with the bat last year (as a very young player at a hard level), he’s still clearly on an upwards trajectory (and I think I was too hard on him and Onil Perez in the Top 50. Mulligan!).

Another player who stayed behind was Bryce Eldridge, who got into his first game action in more than two weeks this weekend. Again, we can’t read too much into the situation — he might not be quite ready to open the year at any level (much less Sacramento, which starts their season a week earlier than anyone else). But Eldridge’s downtime, caused by some discomfort in his wrist that shut down his swinging for a fortnight, could end up being a solid reason to open him up in Richmond (and yes, there may be some wishful thinking in that for me — I’d love to see him play some more this spring).

For some, staying behind in Papago might have been a disappointment. For instance, Tyler Myrick and Evan Gates both spent most of last season in Sacramento. But both appeared in the game at Papago after their former teammates had headed for the locker rooms. With the large group of reliever NRI candidates in camp this year, that Sacramento bullpen is going to be tough competition to break into.

Of course, we can only read between the lines so far. After all, Double-A guys like Victor Bericoto and Jairo Pomares stuck around throughout the action on Saturday, and yet they still managed to find their way to Sacramento by Sunday evening regardless. So perhaps the “All Aboard” wasn’t as final as it appeared to be. Still, minor league camp is heading into its final week — which means that some things should be getting clearer in the coming days. So, let’s get to the action that was.