OAKLAND -- From the first day of Giants camp to the dog days of spring, manager Gabe Kapler has seen plenty of things to like about his players suiting up in the orange and black, from their dynamic athleticism to their growing defensive acumen. The thing he likes best, though, is somewhat outside their control: their ability to stay healthy.

Kapler told the media ahead of Sunday's 9-5 win over the A's at the Oakland Coliseum that outfielders Mitch Haniger (Grade 1 left oblique strain) and Austin Slater (left hamstring strain) will begin the season on the injured list, while starter Alex Cobb's (left knee bruise) status for the season-opening series in New York will depend on how he comes out of a backfield game in Arizona on Monday. Outfielder Luis González (low back surgery) is also likely to miss the first half of the season.

Aside from that group, the Giants are cautiously optimistic about both their health and depth entering the 2023 season, particularly when it comes to the starting rotation.

"You need that depth because you're going to lose some of that depth, and you might lose some of it in Spring Training -- and we didn't," Kapler said. "I think that's a really good feather in the cap of our training staff who did a tremendous job this spring, and our pitching coaches who did a nice job of monitoring workloads and making sure that guys were built up and not worn out."

Last year, health was not the sole reason for the regression the Giants saw going from a 107-win 2021 to an 81-81 '22, but it certainly didn't help matters. The Giants lost 1,462 player days to injury in 2022, according to Spotrac, the 13th-highest total in the Majors. They also lacked the depth to adequately fill in for key contributors such as Brandon Crawford, who spent over a month on the injured list with a left knee issue, and multiple starting pitchers, with three losing at least a month to injury.

"Anytime you make it through camp and are relatively healthy, I think that's encouraging," said left-hander Alex Wood, who missed the final month of 2022 and struck out 10 in his final spring tuneup Sunday. "We're missing one or two guys to start, but they should be right behind us."

• Crawford fresh and ready in return from injury

Along with its health, San Francisco has also seen several promising depth candidates emerge, with spring standout Casey Schmitt capable of holding down the left side of the infield and multiple starter types overflowing into the big league bullpen, not to mention those waiting in the wings at Triple-A such as top prospect Kyle Harrison and Tristan Beck. The outfield, too, is crowded, with speedy switch-hitter Bryce Johnson and Rule 5 Draft pick Blake Sabol likely to crack the Opening Day roster in the absence of Haniger and Slater.

Another position with plenty of depth is catcher, with a bevy of backstops including Sabol, Joey Bart, Roberto Pérez and Austin Wynns jockeying for position. That picture became more clear when Kapler told the media that non-roster invitee Pérez will make the team. The Giants have made a final decision on the catching group they will carry into the regular season, Kapler said, though he refrained from sharing specifics.

That depth gives the Giants more flexibility with lining up starters when they open the season against the Yankees on Thursday. Cobb was originally expected to start the second game in New York, but the club has plenty of options if he's not ready.

"Beyond Logan Webb right now, we're still sorting through things because, again, Cobb being healthy and built up and ready is an important thing to consider," Kapler said. "And then, do we want to slot either Alex Wood into those first three games, or potentially go with our three righties? We'll see; we're just not there yet."

The downside of carrying that extra depth may be that it complicates Kapler's decisions when he fills out his lineup card every day, but that's a problem he doesn't mind having.

"We want to get everybody some reps, right?" he said. "We have guys who are going to play pretty regularly, but we also want to make sure that we figure out a way to get J.D. Davis'] bat into the lineup here or there, or [Wilmer Flores'] bat into the lineup here or there. That's a bit of a challenge."