SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The San Francisco Giants are a day or two away from announcing the winner of the second base competition, and the clues mark a trail to Emmanuel Burriss.

If that is the case, could the team make a symbolic gesture to Kevin Frandsen, perhaps rewarding his perseverance with a start on opening day as they did under slightly different circumstances last season with Rich Aurilia?

No, said Bruce Bochy. Stressing that a decision hasn't been reached, the Giants' manager said the opening-day start, and the job, will go to the player who has the best overall spring.

That's the way Frandsen wants it, too.

"If Manny earned the right to be the second baseman, he should be the guy to stand on the line with the starters," said Frandsen, a San Jose, Calif., native. "Both of us wanted to win the job, and in our minds, both of us won it. It's management's job to decide, but I don't want to be a feel-good story. The guy who wins the job should stand on the line."

Frandsen, 26, has competed for the second base job in each of the past three springs. A ruptured Achilles' tendon ended his bid last season and forced him to miss 161 of 162 games.

Now instead of battling veteran Ray Durham, his competition is a younger player. Burriss, 24, has a .357 average and .423 on-base percentage. Frandsen, who was hitting over .300 until a recent dry spell, is down to a .274 average and has had some rough situational at-bats in recent games. Both have played solid defense.

"They've responded to this competition," Bochy said.

But if Burriss wins the job, there's no guarantee Frandsen will have a place on the roster. Juan Uribe, who hit two home runs Monday, is a virtual lock to make the team. So is Rich Aurilia. Frandsen would be a third right-handed reserve infielder — a luxury for a team that wants to keep outfielder Andres Torres, utilityman Eugenio Velez or possibly hot-hitting Jesus Guzman.

And Frandsen has a minor league option remaining, so the Giants could send him to Triple-A Fresno.

Sources said the Giants have not mentioned the possibility of Triple-A with Frandsen. But Bochy offered a cryptic response when asked a softball question about whether he expects both his second base candidates to contribute to team victories this season.

"I'll say it this way: We're meeting now and we'll meet the next couple days," Bochy said. "I'll answer that better a few days from now."

Frandsen doesn't want to campaign for anything in the media, but he is proud of the job he's done this spring.

"It'd be so much easier if it was clear cut, if either of us got outplayed, but that's not the case," said Frandsen, who made two diving plays Monday. "That's the tough part. You did everything possible. We both played our butts off and had great springs."

—Matt Cain has a 6.04 ERA this spring, but the right-hander is the least of Bochy's worries. For one thing, he's never posted a Cactus League ERA under 6.00. For another, he had strikeout stuff while holding the Texas Rangers to four hits in seven innings of a 7-5 loss. Two of the hits were home runs, though.

—In addition to his power hitting, Uribe has showed impressive playmaking ability at shortstop. He's expected to back up at three infield positions.

"I knew we were getting a good player, but he has looked great this spring," Bochy said.