Giants’ Denard Span on future move to left field: ‘no problem with it’
Denard Span has played 1,176 games in his big-league career, appearing in center field in all but 150.
“He just asked me how I thought about the possibility of moving over to left field, and I told him I had no problem with it,” Span said before the opener of the Giants-Diamondbacks series.
Bochy said any switch would likely come in spring training, considering the difficulty of an in-season position change, especially for someone who hasn’t moved around the outfield since his mid-20s.
Span’s contract runs through next season, as does right fielder Hunter Pence’s.
When a team is on pace for the worst record in franchise history, changes are necessary, and it’s not a given the 2018 Giants will rely on either outfielder in the same role.
Span is hitting .275 with a .324 on-base percentage, seven homers and 24 RBIs.
According to FanGraphs, he’s last among center fielders in defensive runs saved, though defensive metrics aren’t always foolproof and don’t always tell the entire story.
Bochy said when Angel Pagan transitioned from center to left last year, it took all of spring training for him to get comfortable.
The Giants weighed Pagan’s pride when making the move; Span said pride isn’t an issue.