Commentary

Spring training position battles

A daily rundown of the MLB competitions for playing time in April

Updated: April 2, 2010, 3:20 PM ET

By Jason Catania, Charles Curtis and Doug Mittler | ESPN Insider

San Francisco Giants: Catcher

No room for Buster: The Giants looked long and hard for a place for Buster Posey, but San Francisco's catcher of the future apparently will remain just that and Eli Whiteside will begin the season as the backup catcher.

Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Posey is all but certain to begin the season at Triple-A Fresno.

A number of off days early in the season will allow Bengie Molina to be behind the plate on a regular basis in April. Unless Molina gets hurt, Ratto predicts that Posey will likely not be back with the big club until June 1, when the Giants can push his arbitration clock back another year.

The Giants tried Posey at first base this spring, but are uncomfortable using him as a late-inning replacement for Aubrey Huff.

To see more position battles -- including who is officially the Yankees center fielder on Opening Day, the Dodgers fifth starter, the Mets phenom who may stay up with the team after camp breaks, and more -- you must be an ESPN Insider.