SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Giants brought all of their players in for individual meetings over the first couple of weeks of camp, and manager Gabe Kapler and his coaches tried to be transparent about what they wanted to see. It turns out they're also remarkably transparent when a player is headed out of the clubhouse.
Seventeen players were sent out on the first day of cuts, with a few surprises. Jandel Gustave seemed to have shown enough last year that he would stick around the bullpen race for a while, and Chris Shaw and Kean Wong stood out as two who might not have expected to end up in minor league camp this quickly, Shaw because of his previous big league experience and Wong because he was the rare left-handed bat in the infield competition.
But all three will spend the rest of the spring playing in Triple-A games.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"At this point, one of the things that we do is identify if somebody has a real fair shot to make our club, and we identified that both Chris and Kean were not going to be on our Opening Day roster," Kapler said of the position players. "We definitely want to get a couple of players as many looks as possible, and right now it's better for them to go down and get their reps versus taking them here."
Shaw and Wong had plenty of veterans ahead of them, but Gustave was part of a wide-open race in the bullpen. The hard-throwing 27-year-old had a 2.96 ERA in 24 appearances last year but struck out just 5.2 batters per nine innings.
Gustave was left with a clear message that he needs to miss more bats.
"I think for Gustave to be a guy for us, we really need to see a secondary pitch that he can depend on and lean on in the zone, and for swing-and-miss," Kapler said.
San Francisco Giants
Find the latest San Francisco Giants news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
This is the second straight spring that ends in disappointment for Shaw. He was sent to Double-A Richmond at the start of last season but made it back to Triple-A and eventually the big leagues. Shaw struck out eight times in 18 at-bats last September and six times in 12 at-bats this spring. Asked about that continued issue, Kapler said he just wants to see an all-around game from Shaw.
"Continue to work on his defense, his first-step quickness and to understand that in order for him to stick at the major league level, he's got to be a well-above-average offensive player and he's focused on that," Kapler said.
The Giants got Shaw plenty of practice time at first base this spring and actually listed him as an infielder on their initial roster, but the greater opportunity is in the outfield. It was notable, then, that Shaw was sent out while Joe McCarthy stuck around.
Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline last year, McCarthy is -- like Shaw -- a big left-handed hitter. He has not hit for power in the minors but has consistently posted high on-base percentages. The Giants kept McCarthy on the 40-man roster all winter despite his .488 OPS in 24 games for the Sacramento River Cats after the trade.
"Farhan and myself and others have always liked Joe McCarthy going back to his time in Tampa," Kapler said. "I think we've seen quite a bit more of Chris Shaw than we have of Joe McCarthy, and I think we have a pretty good understanding of the areas that Chris can focus on, whereas with Joe I think we're still learning him and I think we need to see him a little bit more."
McCarthy immediately took advantage of the extra time, hitting a homer against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday afternoon.
With a good eye at the plate, McCarthy fits a lot of what the Giants are looking for in hitters. Wong has had that profile in the upper minors and was an intriguing addition on a waiver claim early in the offseason. He seemed a decent fit given how right-handed the Giants currently are at second and third, but Wong got just 11 spring at-bats, singling three times.
Kapler said Wong was given a lot of defensive instruction and told he needs to "work on his first step quickness left and right."
"One of the things that we talked to Kean about is that when he's taking groundballs with the best major league infielders around, he's just a step behind those guys," Kapler said. "We shared that with him openly and directly. First step quickness is one thing to work on, and continuing to work on dominating his at-bats at the minor league level, and he's committed to doing those things."
[RELATED: Giants burned by four-man outfield shift, but won't change]
Cut day is always a tough one for players, but the staff tried to keep it positive and give specific instructions that can be followed in minor league camp and at the start of the Triple-A season. Anyone sent out this month can take solace in a clear truth about the 2020 Giants.
If you're optioned or reassigned, that doesn't mean you're far from a promotion back to the big leagues.
"As you guys know very well, we're going to be a club that looks at a lot of players this season," Kapler said.
