Giants confident move to second base will let Fitzgerald shine

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Shortly after the Giants signed Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million deal in December, Tyler Fitzgerald got a call from Buster Posey.

Fitzgerald ended his rookie season as San Francisco’s everyday shortstop, but he knew Adames’ arrival meant he would be playing elsewhere for the foreseeable future. Posey didn’t keep Fitzgerald guessing for long, though.

The Giants’ new president of baseball operations personally reached out to the 27-year-old to assure him that the club still viewed him as a key part of their infield mix and planned to give him an opportunity to take over the second base job this year.

“Just having the full transparency of, ‘Hey, we signed a guy, we still like you,’ just kind of gave me the peace of mind and ease,” Fitzgerald said. “And it gave me time to prepare for second base. Obviously, when you sign a guy like [Adames], you know that you’re going to move somewhere. But I didn’t know where. So just [Posey] telling me that gave me time to mentally and physically prepare.”

Fitzgerald quickly got to work to try to make his transition to second base as smooth as possible. He reported to Arizona in January to begin taking ground balls alongside Adames and Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman and start building the group’s chemistry on the dirt.

Fitzgerald’s progress hit a minor speed bump when he sat out the first part of camp with lower back tightness, but he finally made his spring debut in Friday’s 9-2 win over the Brewers at Scottsdale Stadium, allowing the Giants’ projected starting infield to play together for the first time this year.

The unit is headlined by Chapman and Adames, the $333 million duo that could form the best left side of the infield in the Majors. But moving Fitzgerald to second and keeping LaMonte Wade Jr. at first base should help improve the Giants’ defense across the board, which should provide a big boost for pitchers like Logan Webb, who ranked fourth in the Majors with a 56.8 percent groundball rate in 2024.

“I don’t think many balls are getting past that group,” Webb said Friday. “It was good to finally have them behind me.”

Fitzgerald, who began the 2024 campaign as a super-utility player for the Giants, played only six games at second base before settling in at shortstop last year, but he profiles well there defensively due to his athleticism and overall skillset.

“I think he’s just a good athlete,” Chapman said. “It’s a shorter throw at second base. So for him, not having to worry about making some of those hard plays in the hole at shortstop, being on that side of the base, I think allows him to slow it a little bit. He’s got quick feet. He’s got good hands. He’s got a good arm. He’s got all the tools. It’s just now the plays aren’t going to be as demanding on him, and I think that’s going to allow him to shine.”

After appearing at six different defensive positions for the Giants last season -- including pitcher -- Fitzgerald said he’s looking forward to getting comfortable at one spot, which he believes could also help him grow at the plate, where he batted .280 with an .831 OPS, 15 home runs and 17 stolen bases over 96 games in 2024.

“I’m super excited,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m just glad I get to play the infield with [Adames] and Chappy. We’re going to have a lot of fun. Just being at one spot for the most part, that’s the plan. I think when I kind of settled in at shortstop last year, it helped kind of my bat and my mind, really. I’m really excited. I have a lot of work to do, especially missing the first few practices, but I think it’ll be a good little transition for me and for the team.”

Verlander pitches in sim game

Rather than make the 40-minute trip to Glendale, Ariz., to face the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon, veteran right-hander Justin Verlander opted to get his work in at the Giants’ Player Development Center at Papago Park, where he gave up two runs on two hits over three simulated innings.

Verlander struck out four, walked one and threw 42 pitches while facing Adames and Giants prospects Carter Howell, James Tibbs III, Dakota Jordan, Jhonny Level, Jonah Cox and Jesus Alexander. Adames accounted for all of the damage against Verlander, finishing 2-for-4 with a solo shot, an RBI double and a walk, but the rest of the Minor Leaguers combined to go 0-for-6 against the three-time Cy Young winner.

Right-hander Carson Seymour, the Giants’ No. 23 prospect in 2024, made his first start of the spring in Saturday’s 6-5 loss to the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch and retired all six batters he faced on 20 pitches (13 strikes).