Bochy: 'We're looking for these guys to step up'
Manager delivers message to next wave of pitchers
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy delivered a message on Thursday to the organization's next wave of pitchers: If you want a big league job, start performing like a big league pitcher.
"We're looking for these guys to step up. They're men now," Bochy said. "They're approaching pitching in the Major Leagues. We're looking for them to get better, improving and doing all they can to win a job here."
Bochy's comments were directed at aspiring starters like Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez -- prospects who have yet to prove themselves definitively. The remarks also were meant for the likes of Derek Law, Steven Okert and Josh Osich -- relievers with big league experience who haven't yet established consistency.
Bochy indicated that the Giants will consider thinking outside the box to derive as much talent as they can from their younger pitchers.
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Beede, for example, has been envisioned as a starter since the Giants selected him in the first round of the 2014 Draft. If necessary, however, the Giants will ponder alternative job descriptions.
"Roles can change," Bochy said. "I hope you're not reading into something here, but you never know with a young kid who has a big arm like this. All of a sudden, you look at him in the bullpen, for example. Right now, he's a starter, trust me. There's no plans to [convert him]. That's yet to be determined. I think overall if you look at him, you're looking at a 3-4-5 type of starter in the Major Leagues."
Sanchez happy to return
Though Hector Sanchez wears a catcher's headgear as part of his job, he could not mask his joy upon returning to the Giants.
Sanchez said on Thursday that two other teams expressed interest in him as a Minor League free-agent acquisition. Once the Giants contacted him, however, any discussion ended regarding which club he might select.
"It was an easy decision to make. I didn't think about it," said Sanchez, whose first tour of duty with the Giants spanned 2011-15. "I love this team. They gave me the opportunity to come to the big leagues."
Obviously, San Francisco's roster has changed since then. But the Giants' significance has stuck with Sanchez.
"All the guys," Sanchez said. "You never forget them. They may not be here, but you keep the relationships."
Sanchez's career has been rigorous. The 28-year-old has sustained seven concussions, but he believes that he is no longer as susceptible to them as he once was.
Giants management may have signed Sanchez as a preventative measure. Playing for the Padres last year, he amassed four home runs and 11 RBIs in 15 games against the Giants. Sanchez dismissed his success against San Francisco as "coincidence."
Sanchez will need more than luck to make the Giants' Opening Day roster. Buster Posey and Nick Hundley are entrenched as the top two catchers. Former Giant Trevor Brown and Aramis Garcia, rated by MLB Pipeline as the organization's sixth-best prospect, also are in camp.
Sanchez trusts the members of San Francisco's braintrust.
"The decision they make will be the best one for the ballclub," Sanchez said.
Powell recovering
Despite undergoing prostate cancer surgery on Jan. 30, Alonzo Powell, the Giants' new hitting coach, perched himself behind the batting cage to watch the catchers take their swings. Powell has been assured that he can rest as much as necessary in the coming weeks. Assistant hitting coach Rick Schu is on duty, and former hitting instructor Hensley Meulens is still on hand as bench coach.