SAN FRANCISCO -- As he stood in front of the cardboard boxes at his locker on the final homestand, Heliot Ramos talked excitedly about the possibility of playing winter ball this offseason. It's a plan he discussed with the Giants' front office and manager Bob Melvin in his exit meeting, although it's a bit surprising.
Ramos played for Santurce in Puerto Rico last offseason, but back then he was a young player just looking for every opportunity to prove that he belonged. A year later, he is as entrenched in the lineup as any young Giant, but he's not content to rest on a 2024 MLB season that included a shocking All-Star Game appearance.
"There's always something to improve on," Ramos said. "No matter what kind of season you have."
Heliot Ramos becomes the first right-handed batter to mash a Splash Hit 🤯 pic.twitter.com/C69BpDBbqw
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 15, 2024
Whether or not he ends up playing in his home country, Ramos will come to camp next year in a much different spot. He is locked into the heart of the lineup and likely will be the Opening Day left fielder. Really, the only thing that could change his fate would be the Giants acquiring someone who is more comfortable in left. In that case, Ramos simply would start in right field.
The other 2024 breakout is in a similar spot. Tyler Fitzgerald knows he'll be in the lineup somewhere in 2025, whether that's at shortstop or second base. Like Ramos, he'll wait to see how the offseason shakes out.
This is all new to the two homegrown position players, but also to the Giants. For years, former president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi would sit down with reporters in early October and talk about the need to get younger and more athletic. There was no press conference this time around, but on his way out, Zaidi did leave the new regime with a more stable foundation.
San Francisco Giants
Going into the season, the Giants hoped to have three key positions locked up by Patrick Bailey, Jung Hoo Lee and Matt Chapman. They now can add Ramos and Fitzgerald to that mix, and both are eager to prove that 2024 was no fluke.
That's particularly important with Fitzgerald, who at 27 is a bit on the older side as a prospect. In the spring, the Giants viewed him as a super-utility guy and he even learned how to play first base, but ultimately he primarily was a shortstop, which is his natural position. Of Fitzgerald's 81 starts, 67 came at shortstop, but he's not going into the offseason assuming that's his 2025 role.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
"We'll see what kind of moves we make," he said. "I know that my job is not secure, especially with how I played [late in the season], but I think a role is in my future, for sure. I think I've earned some kind of role to start next year."
It's no secret that the Giants covet San Diego Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, who will be a free agent, but because Kim just had shoulder surgery, it's possible he won't be ready to play short until the middle of next season. The Milwaukee Brewers' Willy Adames is the other top shortstop on the market and would bring the thump the lineup is sorely lacking, although he'll have plenty of suitors.
Fitzgerald knows either could be a teammate next year, but he said he'll prepare this winter to come into camp as a shortstop since the transition to second base would be much easier if that's what's needed. With Thairo Estrada gone, there is nobody standing in his way at second if the Giants do add a shortstop.
"I'll prepare for short and second and then go from there and see what the team needs and how I can help next year," he said.
What Fitzgerald won't have to do this offseason is take fly balls. He can focus on being a middle infielder, and on finding the answers for the adjustments that pitchers made over the final couple of months. Fitzgerald made waves nationally by homering 11 times over 17 games in July and early August, but he had a .677 OPS over his final 45 games with just three homers and 61 strikeouts.
"I was just getting a lot of pitches right down the middle, whether that was slider or fastball [during that hot streak] and I was hitting both of them," Fitzgerald said on the final homestand "Lately, some of these teams are giving me heaters to hit, but there are some teams that you can tell that it's really just two-seam on the hands and then all sliders away. That's just something that I have to be better at and have a better approach next year. I definitely want to be a better breaking ball hitter next year while still maintaining my strength of hitting the fastball."
Tyler Fitzgerald makes franchise history with a homer in his FIFTH consecutive game 🤯 pic.twitter.com/oS0MB76iBB
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 24, 2024
Fitzgerald was 17-for-21 on the bases but said he plans to work on his first step this offseason. The main goal, though, is just preparing himself for the ups and downs of a long MLB season.
"The biggest thing for me is just being mentally ready for this rollercoaster and mentally knowing in advance that I'm not going to ride that emotional roller coaster of the ups and downs," he said. "I'll just try and stay more level-headed."
Ramos' breakout season started with a lesson in handling the tough times. He was among the first cuts in spring training, but he carried the lineup once he became a regular in early May and was the first homegrown outfielder to make the All-Star Game as a Giant since Chili Davis in 1986.
After the break, Ramos had a .695 OPS, with September being particularly slow. He still finished with a .792 OPS and 22 homers, turning into a potential long-term building block for the lineup, but he said there are a lot of things to fix this winter.
"I want to work on my situational hitting, my first jumps, taking leads on first. I feel like I could be better running the bases and my defense could improve," Ramos said. "The little things that I didn't do right, I want to get better at."
Melvin smiled when told of that list, saying "there weren't too many negatives" in Ramos' exit meeting with coaches and front office officials.
"He's never happy with where he is, but he also has to take a step back and see what he accomplished this year," Melvin said. "Which was immense."
The same holds true for Fitzgerald, and as the Giants plan another round of offseason changes, the two young players have them in a much more comfortable spot.
Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast
