Does everything Javier Baez brings add up to an MVP?

The Giants are being coy about what their rotation will look like at the start of the season. They prefer to talk about most of their pitchers as being “bulk innings” guys, and when Jeff Samardzija, Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly pitched in the same simulated game earlier this week, the subterfuge was ramped up.

Baseball’s spring training can be a slog. It’s normally five weeks between when the full squad shows up until the first game, and six weeks from the time pitchers and catchers report.Position players don’t need such a long lead-in. Pitchers do, especially starters asked to regularly go deep into games. It takes some time, and a lot of rest between outings, to build up that stamina.