Another quiet week in the Bay Area in regards to the San Francisco Giants. With 35 days left until pitchers and catchers begin to report, San Francisco will most likely be staying out of the news stream. But when it comes to one of the last position roster spots, their name keeps coming up. This week’s bit of news surrounds Korean infielder Jae-gyun Hwang.
The Giants have kicked the tires on a few top tier infielders this off-season, Brian Dozier and Justin Turner, without actually having a need for that caliber of players. San Francisco seems set with Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford and Eduardo Nunez starting in the infield. That doesn’t mean they can’t use a talented backup infielder.
Hwang has been with the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization League since he was 22-years-old. The now 29-year-old has performed extremely well during his seven year tenure with the ball club, including this past season where he batted .330, with 26 home run and 24 steals. This past season Hwang spent the majority of his playing time at third base.
Currently, San Francisco has a few utility options already on their roster. Last season, Conor Gillaspie was used as the backup first and third baseman. Gillaspie filled in nicely towards the end of the year when Nunez went down with a hamstring injury. Gillaspie is under contract until 2019.
Another backup option is Kelby Tomlinson. The 26-year-old came up in the 2015 season and has shown the ability to hit for a high batting average. However, Tomlinson hasn’t been able to stay healthy in his first two major league seasons.
They have a few other infielders, including the 2007 National League Most Valuable Player Jimmy Rollins, fighting for the last few roster spots. Besides Tomlinson, the Giants don’t have many options for the utility role past the 2017 season. Even though Hwang has played in another league, he’s shown he has talent. Hwang won’t demand a large contract. He could even spend some time down in the minors if he isn’t ready for the majors out of Spring Training. Hwang is the type of player that could have an impact with the Giants next season and beyond.
Harrison Howard covers the San Francisco Giants and Fantasy Baseball as a Staff Writer for OPSN. Follow him on Twitter @harryhoward54.
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