Giants teammates beware: Team USA-bound Logan Webb ready to heckle
Logan Webb #62 of the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium on February 15, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) (Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco G/Getty Images)Susan SlusserMon, March 2, 2026 at 12:57 AM UTC·5 min readSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - In his next game at Scottsdale Stadium, Logan Webb will be in the other dugout and in a different uniform, a member of Team USA watching his big-league team - the San Francisco Giants - play a group of American stars in an exhibition game.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis does not, in any way, leave Webb conflicted. He plans to heckle his Giants friends enthusiastically. He expects Blade Tidwell to start for San Francisco, "So I'll give him some crap," Webb said, adding firmly. "I will talk crap the entire time."
Webb quickly has turned into a mentor for Tidwell, who is delighted that the Giants' All-Star is even considering trash-talking him. "Yeah, I like it," Tidwell said. "Actually, I probably won't even hear him when I'm pitching, but before, yeah, good!"
Tidwell is undaunted about facing that packed Team USA lineup and he's especially eager to face the biggest name of the bunch. "I haven't faced Aaron Judge yet - I'm curious how that will go," Tidwell said.
Webb got his final tuneup before heading over to Team USA's camp at the Giants' Papago Park complex on Sunday. He worked three innings and gave up one run, thanks to hitting Jase Bowen, the Padres' leadoff man, then, after Bowen stole second, allowing a two-out single to Ty France. Webb faced the minimum the rest of the way, his signature changeup and sinker both sharp.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"That's the best I've seen him in any spring training," catcher Patrick Bailey said. "I'm really excited for this year for Logan."
Webb then had to go throw 10 more pitches in the bullpen to get to the 50-ish mark he was looking for. He'll probably throw 60-65 pitches in his first WBC start, which will likely come Friday against Brazil in Houston. Webb isn't saying - that's Team USA manager Mark DeRosa's job - but there's always a chance it could be Saturday. In which case, that would be against teammate Tristan Beck's Team Great Britain.
So far, that is a one-sided heckle battle.
"I have not been talking crap to Tristan at all," Webb said, laughing. "He has been. He said I was scared to face them.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Tristan's very excited to pitch in it, so it will be fun to watch him - obviously the one day we face his team, I won't be rooting for him, but every other time I will be."
Jen Pawol, the first woman to umpire a regular-season big-league game, was behind the plate Sunday and Webb liked the job she did.
"She was great today," he said. "Saw the story last year (when she worked a big-league series) so it was cool to see her in person. I always give my little head nod, but I didn't get to talk to her. I was kind of hoping that she'd maybe check my hands or something, but she didn't. But it's really cool to see."
Bailey paid Pawol the best compliment any woman trailblazer in a traditionally male industry can get.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"She was great," Bailey said. "Just like the rest."
Bailey did get to continue to show how good he is at gauging the ABS system when he challenged a ball to Jose Miranda in the second inning even when Webb, admittedly, had missed his spot and the pitch had sailed toward the edge of the plate. Pawol's ball call was overturned for strike three, ending the inning.
"We were trying to go in and he kind of yanked it away, but I was pretty confident with the strike," Bailey said.
Bailey has the most successful challenges this spring, with five; he's 5 for 7 according to Statcast.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"He knows the strike zone better than probably anybody in baseball," Webb said. "It'll be fun with some of those ones, like today - we were trying to go in, and I kind of missed the way that usually never gets called a strike. And now we can challenge it. So I'm excited about that."
Briefly: Harrison Bader said he incurred a right thumb contusion when jammed on a pitch last week; he had a compression sleeve on his hand Sunday and said he'll be back in action when the inflammation is gone. … Bader leaves Wednesday to join Team Israel at the WBC in Miami, the injury never threatened his ability to compete in the event. … Beck pitched Sunday in his final game before the WBC, allowing two hits and striking out one in a scoreless inning. Casey Schmitt went 2 for 3, drove in a run and scored twice on his 27th birthday. … Caleb Killian, sent to the Rockies in the Kris Bryant trade and now back with San Francisco, worked his third scoreless inning of the spring. He's allowed one hit and struck out one in the three innings. … Sergio Romo is the newest alum in camp, and manager Tony Vitello has mentioned a few times what a Romo fan he is - when learning to be a pitching coach at Missouri, he used Romo as a model for what he'd like his pitchers to do - and the two got a chance to speak Sunday. Romo raved about how charismatic he found Vitello and said they'd vibed, and Vitello said, "I think anyone that can handle his weirdness, he's going to vibe with. I'm pretty tolerant, so that's my explanation for that. But yeah, he's a good one."
This article originally published at Giants teammates beware: Team USA-bound Logan Webb ready to heckle.
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