San Francisco Giants Name Starting Third Baseman

So who's on first? And who's on third? No, this isn't an old Abbott & Costello routine, it's the new-look San Francisco Giants. 

For the first time in six seasons, veteran Evan Longoria doesn't come into camp as the Giants' starting third baseman. Along with the departure of Brandon Belt over at first, the team's infield is going to look a lot different this season. 

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi made clear who the starter at third will be.

Zaidi said David Villar enters camp as the starter at third base and Giants “hope he takes it and runs with it.” He’ll get some reps at second base so he can move there when Thairo Estrada moves to short on Brandon Crawford’s days off.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) February 15, 2023

Zaidi said David Villar enters camp with the 3B job, he hopes that "he takes it and runs with it.” Other options at third include J.D. Davis and Wilmer Flores.  

The 25-year-old Villar made his major league debut at the beginning of July, but it didn't go well. 23 games later he was hitting .175 with a .623 OPS. He was sent back down to Triple-A for a bit more seasoning, and when he came back at the beginning of September, he brought with him a 1.022 OPS from Sacramento, with 27 HR and 82 RBIs in just 92 games. 

In September with the Giants, Villar showed he belonged. He blasted eight homers with 17 RBIs and an .897 OPS in 29 games. 

Now, he just has to pick up where he left off, and the job is his. 

Photo: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports