SCOTTSDALE -- Gabe Kapler and Brandon Crawford walked out onto the backfield at Scottsdale Stadium on Saturday afternoon with gloves and a baseball. But first, they grabbed a football.
The reigning NL Manager of the Year and the shortstop who finished fourth in MVP voting tossed it back and forth for 10 minutes, catching up on life as they exchanged spirals. For a few weeks, that might be part of the daily routine for Kapler. He is as communicative as any manager in the game, but for nearly 100 days this offseason, he was forbidden from contacting his players.
That changed on Thursday when MLB and the MLBPA finally reached a deal on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Kapler immediately took to Twitter, sending out a handshake emoji as he stood around with smiling coaches. Finally, the NL West division title defense could start for a manager who was often just as in the dark as outsiders the last four months.
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"My friends would check in with me, like, 'Hey, got any dope?'" Kapler said Saturday. "I'd (respond), 'I have no idea. What did Passan say today?'"
Kapler made calls and fired off texts on Thursday and Friday, and on Saturday he started to see a steady stream of players at Scottsdale Stadium. The Giants do not report until Sunday, but many of their key players had been waiting months to work out at Scottsdale Stadium.
Crawford has lived in Scottsdale for years but had to find another place to lift and throw all winter. Logan Webb moved nearby in 2020 largely so he could spend offseasons preparing at the team facility, but he was banned until Friday when he threw to minor leaguers at Papago Park.
Webb was one of several players Kapler finally got to catch up with Saturday. Evan Longoria, Alex Cobb, Austin Slater, Heliot Ramos and Tyler Beede were among the group that showed up a day early.
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"It kind of feels like a big void has been filled," Kapler said. "Our players are in the building, there are big hugs, big smiles, and it's great to see everyone. There's a lot of optimism and a lot of work to do, but yeah, good vibes so far."
The mood was lifted even higher Friday when the Giants agreed to a two-year deal with Carlos Rodon, who should slide in comfortably behind Webb in the rotation. The Rodon deal is not official yet because he needs to take a physical, but that's imminent. Kapler did not expect any issues getting the group together, saying infielder Thairo Estrada might be delayed but otherwise the Giants are in good shape travel-wise.
Kapler and his staff have already been working on lineups and schedules for pitchers, although they need to go through the intake process to get a full picture of how to handle this sprint to the April 8 opener at Oracle Park. Infielder Tommy La Stella, for instance, might be in doubt for Opening Day because of offseason Achilles surgery, but the Giants won't fully know until they get him in camp. They weren't allowed to interact with La Stella during the lockout.
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The Giants will adjust on the fly, and Kapler said he wasn't at all concerned about being ready for Opening Day. His main focus might actually have nothing to do with Cactus League at-bats or innings pitched. It's time to reestablish the 107-win chemistry.
"I think the thing that stands out most to me about last year is we were a very unselfish team," Kapler said. "That was the vibe. We were unselfish, we looked out for each other between the lines. It's probably more common to see that happen off the field, but it's very uncommon to see that happen the way it happened between the lines and in the dugout, to see that level of support from player to player.
"This is something that we want to double down on, the unselfish, team-first mentality."