San Francisco Giants: Who should be the primary third baseman in 2017?
The San Francisco Giants look like one of the strongest teams heading into 2017. With a few options at third base, who should they use primarily at the hot corner?
Last season ended in heartbreak for the San Francisco Giants. The club watched a 5-2, ninth inning lead evaporate and eventually turn into a 6-5 Cubs win. The loss eliminated the Giants from the playoffs and ended their “even-year” run.
Fast-forward to 2017 and the Giants with the signing of closer Mark Melancon look ready to compete again. The team has very few weak spots. They lack a true left fielder and don’t have a locked up third baseman yet. Although, the Giants do have plenty of options at third base.
The players battling for playing time at the hot corner are Eduardo Nunez, Conor Gillaspie and Kelby Tomlinson. MLB.com projects Nunez as the starting third baseman in 2017 but Spring Training could change that. The Giants also have veterans Aaron Hill and Jimmy Rollins on minor-league deals. Both guys could work their way into third base playing time with a successful Spring.
With an already above-average infield, with Brandon Belt at first, Joe Panik at second and Brandon Crawford at short, the Giants can’t really go wrong with naming any of these guys the starting third baseman.
There’s also a good shot that the Giants use a platoon at third base. In order for the Giants to compete with the Dodgers for the NL West, they’ll need their best lineup out there at all times.
Let’s take a look at the Giants’ third base options, in order of the likelihood that they become the primary man at the hot corner.
Eduardo Nunez
The Giants acquired Eduardo Nunez from the Twins near the trade deadline last season. With the Twins, Nunez earned his first All-Star Game appearance in 2016. In 91 games with the Twins, he batted .296 with 12 home runs, 47 RBI and 49 runs.
When Nunez played for the Giants, his numbers went down. In 50 games, he hit just four home runs, drove in 20 runs and batted .269. Nunez joined a Giants’ offense that slumped mightily in the second half of 2016.
In his career, Nunez has hit for a .273 average, 34 homers and 187 RBI. He produced well in his first season with over 140 games played. But was last season more of a fluke or the result of a lot of playing time? The Giants are hoping for the former.
According to fangraphs.com, Eduardo Nunez hits better when playing third base. In 79 games at third base, he hit 10 home runs with 41 RBI and a .323 average. Compare that to shortstop, where Nunez hit 6 home runs with 23 RBI and a .251 average.
After last season’s performance, Nunez leads the running for the Giants’ opening day third baseman. But, don’t mark him as a guarantee, just yet.
Conor Gillaspie
In his second stint with the Giants, Conor Gillaspie provided the club with a pinch hitter and a third base option. Gillaspie played in 101 games in 2016. More than half of those games were him pinch hitting.
Gillaspie hit .262 with six home runs and 25 RBI, in 2016. Obviously, the stats don’t jump out, but Gillaspie got hot toward the end of the season.
In the postseason, Gillaspie started at third base in all five of the team’s games and hit .421. He drove in six runs and provided the two most clutch hits during the Giants’ 2016 playoff run.
When the Giants played the Mets in the Wild Card Game, Gillaspie hit a game-winning three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning off Mets’ closer Jeurys Familia. Then in Game 4 of the NLDS, Gillaspie came up clutch again. He hit a go-ahead two-RBI triple against former Cubs’ closer Aroldis Chapman.
He’s not a flashy player and won’t win a silver slugger or gold glove but he plays with a lot of heart. And last postseason showed that Gillaspie has a bit of a clutch gene that few players possess.
Could Gillaspie use his hot postseason swing as motivation for 2017?
Kelby Tomlinson, Jimmy Rollins and Aaron Hill
All three of the players mentioned here most likely won’t beat out Nunez or Gillaspie for primary third baseman in 2017. Nonetheless, these three could perform well enough in Spring Training and prove otherwise.
Kelby Tomlinson enters his third season with the Giants in 2017. He’s provided the Giants with a solid backup infielder the past two seasons. In 106 career games, Tomlinson owns a .299 average, two home runs, 26 RBI and 36 runs scored.
He’s primarily a second baseman but if he hits well, third base might call his name. Could Tomlinson make the step up from backup to starter in 2017?
Jimmy Rollins lost a step or two with age, but don’t count the 38-year-old out of the running just yet. Bob Nightengale reported that Rollins is determined on making San Francisco’s squad in 2017.
Rollins certainly isn’t the player he was back with the Phillies. But if any team can find success with Rollins, it’s the Giants. Just ask others like Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, Cody Ross and a bunch of other late-career wonders for the Giants within the past decade.
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Lastly, Aaron Hill has a slim chance becoming the Giants’ primary third baseman. In his 12-year career, Hill’s played for four other teams. After a few down seasons in Arizona, Hill played well for the Brewers in 2016.
When Milwaukee traded him to the Red Sox in the second half of 2016, Hill struggled. Earlier in February, the Giants signed Hill to a minor-league deal. Like Rollins, maybe Hill can attempt a late-career wonder in San Francisco.