Programming note: D'backs-Giants coverage starts tonight at 7pm on CSN Bay Area.
The Giants made several cuts on Sunday, and the roster now stands at 26 players.
Two players who were sent down -- Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson -- made their big-league debuts last year.
So why isn't one of them going to make the 2016 Opening Day roster?
"They (the Giants) just haven't gotten enough innings out of the starters to consider going with a seven-man bullpen, so they gotta go with eight" Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow explained on KNBR 680 on Monday morning. "If you look at the schedule early on, they don't have a lot of off days. So the bullpen, you need another guy. You need an eighth guy.
"And what that means, is you're only gonna have four extra players. It's kind of a skeleton bench, and some guys who deserve to go north, unfortunately have to go back down and they have to wait."
The Giants open the regular season on Monday, April 4 and their first off day is on April 11.
They then play 15 straight days before their second day off on Thursday, April 28.
Then, there's the stats for the Giants' projected starting rotation:
Jeff Samardzija: six starts, 25 innings, 1-3, 7.20 ERA.
Jake Peavy: six starts, 23 innings, 1-0, 7.43 ERA.
Madison Bumgarner: four starts, 11.1 innings, 0-1, 11.12 ERA.
Johnny Cueto: three starts, 10.1 innings, 1-2, 9.58 ERA.
Matt Cain: two starts, 6.2 innings, 1-1, 12.15 ERA.
"If you're Mac Williamson or Jarrett Parker ... you just have to bide your time because the team will go down to 12 pitchers eventually when the starters start stretching out and eating up more innings.
"If you're a player that has to go down, that's exactly what Bruce Bochy is gonna tell you: Be ready, because we're gonna be making moves quick."
Parker, whom the Giants selected in the second round of the 2010 draft, hit .400 (16-for-40) with six home runs and 14 RBI over 17 games last September for San Francisco.
He's hitting just .239 this spring with 23 strikeouts in 67 at-bats this spring.
Williamson, a third round pick in 2012, batted .219 over 34 plate appearances for the Giants last year.
He's hitting .298 with five home runs and 14 RBI this spring.
"They paid their dues," Krukow explained. "I think Jarrett Parker is a little bit farther ahead than Mac Williamson. And I think for both of them to go down and get reps and at-bats right now -- that's important. Look, Parker had a good spring, but he still struck out 23 times in only 67 at-bats. He needs to go down and tighten it up...
"Hey, it's no disgrace playing Triple-A ball, especially when you're going to Sacramento. That's a great place to play. So that's how you have to look at it -- 'I'm gonna go down there, polish it up, get ready to go and just be ready.' "
Before spring training began, people within and outside the organization touted the Giants' pitching depth.
And now, according to Krukow, management should be pleased with the position-player depth as well.
"I think the underlying theme of this whole spring has been the revelation of the depth that the Giants now have in their minor league system," he added. "They got some up-and-comers. And they got guys now that are going back down to the minor leagues and they're ticked off. And that's good because they think they should be in the big leagues. And you know what, they probably would be in other organizations."
