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Giants option struggling pitcher and outfielder to Triple-A

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Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports


The Giants are proceeding as if the 2020 season will begin, which includes delivering unfortunate news to a few players.

Righty Shaun Anderson and outfielder Steven Duggar were optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Farhan Zaidi said, so if spring training 2.0 starts up, those two will not be back in major league camp.

The front office talked through the roster and settled on the pair as guys they didn’t “think still had a real chance to make the Opening Day roster,” the president of baseball operations said on a conference call Thursday.

If the timing is surprising — while the sport steps away amid the coronavirus scare that is threatening the entire season — the decisions are not. Neither was guaranteed a spot and neither has had a nice spring.

Anderson, who has both started and relieved in the past and entered camp as a possible closer, was knocked around in three outings, then righted himself in one appearance just before camp broke. He cited his fastball grip as the variable that messed with his early-spring work, and he’ll have to show that it’s cured from minor league camp or Sacramento.

Duggar, who spent much of his offseason adjusting his batting stance to a straighter, more narrow approach, has always been a top-notch defender but is yet to prove his bat can match his glove. With the new look at the plate, he was just 4-for-21 with nine strikeouts in his limited time in Scottsdale, Ariz.

There are a litany of relievers in contention to fill spots that won’t go to Anderson. In the outfield, the only surefire roster spots are owned by Mike Yastrzemski, Hunter Pence and Alex Dickerson. Jaylin Davis and Austin Slater are trying to stick, as are non-roster invitees Billy Hamilton, Joey Rickard and Drew Robinson.