SAN FRANCISCO — When Christian Koss took the mound to record the final three outs of the Giants’ blowout loss to the Mets on Saturday, it was hardly out of the ordinary.
The utility infielder has been the Giants’ go-to guy when a game has gotten out of hand the past two seasons. The twist is that his first pitching appearance came before he logged an at-bat.
After years of utilizing every spot on the 26-man roster and maximizing platoon advantages by mixing and matching with in-game moves, the Giants haven’t made much use of Koss or the rest of the five reserves on their bench in the early days of Tony Vitello’s managerial tenure.
“I think currently with the set-up we have, those guys are going to have to get used to not getting consistent at-bats,” Vitello said.
Not just consistent at-bats: any at all.
Entering their 11th game of the season Monday, the Giants still had two position players yet to step to the plate in Koss and backup outfielder Jared Oliva. Jerar Encarnacion, their biggest bench bat, has been called on to pinch-hit just once.
In fact, Encarnacion’s groundout for Patrick Bailey in the seventh inning of their loss to the Padres on Wednesday was the Giants’ only pinch-hit plate appearance of the season. Just one other team, the Angels, has utilized its bench less than Vitello in the early going.
“I’m ready at any point,” Koss said. “You would like to be in the lineup more often, but that doesn’t dictate whether I’m ready for when my name is called.”
When asked if he has found it difficult to find opportunities to get Koss and the rest of his reserves into games so far, Vitello said, “Yeah, I think so.”
As he transitions from the University of Tennessee to Major League Baseball, every move the rookie skipper makes — or doesn’t make — will be under the microscope as fans and rival teams alike attempt to determine his managerial tendencies.
“There’s no agenda with the lineup other than trying to win the game,” he said.
So far, though, Vitello has shown a proclivity to stick with his guys.
When the Yankees brought in tough lefty Tim Hill to face Jung Hoo Lee in a leverage moment in the first series of the year, Vitello didn’t bring in any of the five right-handed hitters on his bench.
Lee was called out on strikes to end the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss.
Vitello had his full complement of reserves available, and Lee possesses a .601 career OPS against lefties, but when asked if there was any discussion about subbing in a pinch-hitter, he said, “Not at all. I mean, he’s our guy.”
When hiring the Giants’ next manager, Buster Posey said he wanted someone to “obsess over the details,” but Vitello has gone about showing that in a different way than with every little in-game decision. Gone are the days of winning at the margins by prioritizing platoon matchups.
Giants batters have owned the left-right advantage in only 47.5% of their plate appearances this season, tied for the fourth-lowest mark in the majors. The Guardians lead the league at 78.1%, and San Francisco ranked among the top 10 as recently as 2023 with a rate of 62.4%.
That same season the Giants used 179 pinch-hitters, tied for the most in MLB. Through 10 games this year, they’re on pace for fewer than 20 pinch-hit at-bats over the course of 162.
That is due, at least in part, to roster construction. Whether it be through trade or free agency, the Giants have built their most stable starting lineup in years, and Vitello has mostly rolled with the same group of nine players to start the season.
Oliva has proven to be an asset on the base paths, with Vitello using the speedy 30-year-old to pinch-run three times. Daniel Susac looks like a capable backup to Bailey. But the remaining combination of Encarnacion, Koss and Casey Schmitt has so far been of little utility.
“We’ll find ways to utilize JO’s speed, and he’s also got other things he can do well,” Vitello said. But, he added, “I think with Jerar and with Koss, we’ve got to get creative.”
All five reserves bat right-handed, but the highest career OPS against left-handed pitching among them belongs to Schmitt, with a mark of .685.
If the hope is for at least eight of their nine regulars to play everyday, and few situations would be suitable for any of their reserves to pinch-hit, then what value are the Giants getting out of the end of their roster? At the end of the day, Vitello can only manage the players he has.
“Jerar has probably been the first guy to show up about everyday since the season has started,” Vitello said. “Koss, he could put on a couple pounds, he doesn’t look like the toughest guy in the world, I can tell you internally, he’s probably as tough as anybody we got. …
“On a personal level, I’d like to see those guys get rewarded for their hard work as much as anything. But also, this isn’t a situation where it’s a ‘Rudy’ deal. These guys can do some things on the field.”