SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — With per week till Opening Day and lingering discomfort in his knee, San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt ultimately has a “very tentative” plan to look in his first spring coaching recreation.
If all goes as deliberate, Belt would make his Cactus League debut Monday towards the A’s, supervisor Gabe Kapler mentioned Thursday morning, a state of affairs that will give their 33-year-old first baseman, at most, two exhibition video games earlier than the beginning of the common season.
“He’s been getting tons of reps, so he’s seen a variety of stay pitching already,” mentioned Kapler, who pointed to Belt’s expertise final season, when he was additionally restricted for a lot of the spring. “We noticed final 12 months that we don’t want a protracted ramp up of in-game spring coaching reps with someone within the different uniform on the opposite aspect to get Brandon Belt able to play baseball.”
Belt, 33, solely performed 4 spring coaching video games final 12 months, earlier than occurring to to put up profession highs in house runs (29) whereas batting .274/.378/.597 — an OPS greater than 100 factors higher than any earlier full season — however was restricted to solely 97 video games by numerous illnesses.
Belt arrived at spring coaching this 12 months coping with discomfort in his proper knee — the official analysis is irritation — that has prevented him from getting in to a Cactus League recreation. However Belt has been a daily participant in drills on the backfield that embody taking floor balls at first base and dealing with stay pitching in batting observe periods. One current stay BP session that was scheduled for Monday was canned as a result of Belt was beneath the climate.
“In an ideal world, would he have felt excellent when he bought to camp and gone by means of a standard spring coaching development? Certain,” Kapler mentioned. “However that’s not the place we're. We noticed final 12 months that he can have an incredible season – that doesn’t imply there gained’t be damage challenges that come up – impartial of getting the right quantity of reps in spring coaching. … Belt has at all times handled some minor knee points, so this isn't a brand new factor for us. It’s a factor that our coaching workers and medical workers could be very aware of.”
Whether or not Belt sees the sector earlier than the tip of spring coaching remains to be to be decided.
Tommy La Stella hadn’t appeared in a spring recreation till this week and slotted in at designated hitter in his first contest, then took a recreation off and made his debut at second base Thursday towards the Rockies.
If Belt debuts Monday, the Giants’ solely remaining spring coaching recreation comes the next day, which means Belt would both must play video games on back-to-back days or depart for San Francisco with just one recreation beneath his belt.
The Giants face the A’s on Monday and Tuesday in a rescheduled model of the Bay Bridge exhibitions that have been initially going to happen at Oracle Park and the Oakland Coliseum. As a substitute, the groups will cut up the ultimate two video games of their Cactus League schedules between their respective spring coaching houses.
The Giants play their ultimate recreation of the spring Tuesday and can depart for San Francisco the next day, with a exercise at Oracle Park anticipated Thursday earlier than they host the Miami Marlins on Friday afternoon for Opening Day.