SCOTTSDALE — Angel Pagan was a shortstop until he was 15 and a coach who noted his long throwing motion told him to move to center field. He has almost exclusively been a center fielder since, but when Pagan walked into the clubhouse and saw his name on the lineup card Tuesday, it said left field.
Pagan smiled and walked to his locker. He has been working toward this day since the Giants signed Denard Span, and after being held out of the lineup for a week, Pagan was just happy to be playing. His first night in left showed that there are adjustments to be made, but Pagan is confident.
“I think I’ll be alright,” he said. “I’ve done it before. Six years ago, but I’ve done it. I believe I’m going to be fine.”
Naturally, the first Reds batter to come to the plate Tuesday hit a flare to shallow left. Pagan didn’t face any big tests, but it does appear that he’ll have to adjust to long throws from the corner to second base. He said his main concern right now is just being in the right place. There was a ball hit to Gregor Blanco in center that had Pagan wondering if he should be running to back up Blanco or running the other way to back up third base.
Manager Bruce Bochy was mostly focused on how Pagan was running. "I just like the way he's moving around," Bochy said after a 16-7 win.
Bochy held Pagan out of the opening week of games because the staff wants to be careful with a player who had minor knee surgery in the offseason. Pagan said that physically, he “felt great, felt strong.” The rest of this spring won’t be about health, but rather about learning the intricacies of a new position. The Giants haven’t ruled out the possibility of Pagan playing some center field when Denard Span rests during the season, but for now they want him focusing on his new spot. Pagan said he’ll leave that decision up to the staff.
“They asked me to play left, and I was 100 percent on board,” he said. “If Bochy wants me to play left field, I’ll respect the decision and go out and play.”
THE STARTER: Madison Bumgarner gave up five hits and three runs in three innings, and said his go-to cutter remains a work in progress.
“It’s backing up on me a lot,” Bumgarner said. “It’s not quite right coming out of my hand.”
Bumgarner said the pitch is usually the first one that locks in every spring, so he’s not concerned. He got a big strikeout with an elevated cutter in the third, but as he grabbed the throw back from catcher Trevor Brown, Bumgarner yelled angrily into his glove. Even that cutter wasn’t quite where it was supposed to be.
“It worked, but it definitely wasn’t what I wanted,” he said.
GAME RECAP: Joe Panik looks healthy, no? He had three hits and easily motored into third early on for a triple. "That's as good as I've seen him run," Bochy said. … Jarrett Parker hit his first homer of the spring, a long shot to right … Christian Arroyo introduced himself to the TV audience with a long homer over the bullpen in left. The kid can seriously hit. He’s not far from the big leagues.
HEALTH UPDATES: Hunter Pence (Achilles tendinitis) could be in the starting lineup on Friday. “He told me he’s ready to go tomorrow, but we’re better off being safe than sorry,” Bochy said … Santiago Casilla (flu) will throw a live BP session tomorrow and then make his debut … Sergio Romo (slow-played) is two live BP sessions away from a game … Matt Cain is running out of time to get enough starts in before the season, so Chris Heston will continue to get stretched out. Bochy wants Heston’s pitch count to get to starter territory by the end of the spring. “We’ve got to cover ourselves and have somebody ready," Bochy said.
FAMILIAR FACE: Jonathan Sanchez — yes, that Jonathan Sanchez — came on for the Reds in the fourth. He walked the first batter he faced. Sanchez gave up five earned on four hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings.
QUOTABLE: What does Bumgarner want to work on in his next spring start? “Getting some outs,” he deadpanned. “Not giving up runs.”
