SAN FRANCISCO -- After their final game at Oracle Park this season, about a dozen of the 65 players the Giants have used this season stood on the infield grass and fired balls up at fans with outstretched arms. It is a tradition at Oracle Park, but this year more than just about any, it was easy to look down at the participants and wonder how many of them will be around when the Giants next play a home game.
This will be a winter of change, and after the Giants fell too far back to seriously dream of the playoffs, the final weeks of a disappointing season turned into an audition for 2023. Few players have taken advantage more than Sunday's late star.
David Villar's single found the right hole and drove in the final two runs of a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 10th inning Sunday. The walk-off was the first for Villar, a star in the minors the past two seasons who has translated that success to big league batter's boxes over the past month.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Villar has had his ups and downs, but he entered the day with a .784 OPS in 25 games since returning from Triple-A. It is a stretch that has opened eyes and allowed his manager to talk often over the past few days about what Villar needs to work on to build on the momentum this offseason.
"If you stack up how he started as a Major Leaguer and look at all of his numbers, you're going to see that he has done a pretty good job for his first 150-175 plate appearances relative to what happens with most rookies when they come up," Kapler said. "There are very few rookies who get to the big leagues and tear the cover off the ball immediately. Villar has very much held his own, he has hit for some power, he has come up big in important spots and he's improved."
Before the game, Kapler noted that the staff had been pleased to see so many players keep their pre-game work consistent given the team's overall state. Villar is at or near the top of that list, doing daily work to improve defensively. That versatility will be crucial as he aims to win an opening day job in 2023.
Villar came up as primarily a corner infielder, but the Giants are intrigued by his ability to play second and Kapler said the exit interview will include directions that Villar should focus on first, second and third over the winter. The Giants also want him to work on his range, which will be crucial with shifts being banned next year.
San Francisco Giants
Find the latest San Francisco Giants news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
If Villar is able to handle second base at times, that will open up another avenue to playing time. The Giants want to move Thairo Estrada around more often next season and Wilmer Flores looks headed for a lot of time at first base given the uncertainty surrounding Brandon Belt.
Villar ended his day standing on the right side of the dirt, but only because that's where teammates rushed to meet him after his walk-off. The single was hit just 77 mph but found the right hole, allowing Mike Yastrzemski to score easily and Wilmer Flores to slide in safely when the throw to the plate was dropped.
RELATED: Villar was fearless against Dodgers' Kershaw in career game
Kapler smiled and said the send from third base coach Mark Hallberg was "very aggressive," but it worked out and allowed Villar to be the center of the celebration near the end of a breakout season. He wasn't really on the radar six months ago, but he's hit 34 homers between Triple-A and MLB this season, and he'll finish his season in the big leagues.
"The first run up here, it was tough adjusting to the big leagues," Villar said. "The second time around I've had some good moments, I've had some bad moments. All in all it's a learning season, and every year I've just got to get better and better and progress as a Major League hitter."