SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The competition between Emmanuel Burriss and Kevin Frandsen for the Giants' second-base job nearly ended abruptly Monday.

Burriss left San Francisco's 8-5 exhibition loss to the Los Angeles Angels after being hit on the left ankle by a Shane Loux fastball in the fifth inning. But the angry-looking, 2-inch laceration the ball imprinted upon Burriss might as well have been shaped like a four-leaf clover or a horseshoe, given his good fortune.

"Half an inch lower and I probably would have been out for the season," Burriss said, pointing out that Loux's pitch struck him just above the knobby portion of his inner ankle bone.

Burriss sustained no apparent fracture and is on day-to-day playing status.

"He probably could have finished the game, but I took him out so he could be taken care of," manager Bruce Bochy said. "I expect him to be fine."

Thus the tug-of-war between Burriss and Frandsen still seems destined to continue through nearly the entire exhibition season.

"They're both playing well. The decision has not been made yet," Bochy said.

Neither Burriss nor Frandsen gained an edge during San Francisco's fourth consecutive Cactus League defeat, though both strived to prevent the club from absorbing another setback.

Burriss was in the lineup at shortstop, where he started 34 games last season. He went 0-for-2, dropping his batting average to .375, but smoothly assisted on three putouts, one of which was a fifth-inning double play he started. Burriss explained that Giants coaches have kept him working extensively at shortstop to give Bochy more personnel options.

"It felt good," said Burriss, who had spent only two exhibition innings at shortstop entering the game. "I just tried to slow everything down and get back in the rhythm of playing shortstop."

Playing second base, Frandsen handled five chances flawlessly, served as the middleman on two double plays and chopped a fourth-inning RBI single over a drawn-in infield during a 1-for-3 afternoon that lifted his average to .293. Further reflecting Bochy's desire to maximize roster flexibility, Frandsen also started at shortstop recently and might soon play some third base, a position he played regularly at San Jose State University and intermittently in the pros.

Bochy indicated that he and general manager Brian Sabean ponder any and all roster permutations during their near-daily discussions. For example, Bochy acknowledged the notion of sending Burriss to Triple-A Fresno to play every day and master either second base or shortstop if he doesn't win a starting job outright. Bochy also admitted that a scenario exists in which Burriss and Frandsen both could open the season with the Giants. In that event, the Giants likely would keep 11 pitchers on the Opening Day squad instead of the 12-man contingent they tend to favor, thus creating room for another position player.

Like most Major Leaguers, Burriss doesn't dwell on what management might be thinking. Regaining full health suddenly has become his most immediate concern.

"Now that I've iced it and the pain kind of went away, I feel a lot luckier than I did about 20 minutes ago," Burriss said shortly after leaving the trainer's room. "That could have been bad."

Burriss wants to resume playing as soon as possible, but not because he fears being overtaken by Frandsen.

"Honestly, I don't think it has too much to do with the competition," Burriss said. "Right when this happened, the first thing I thought about was just being able to play. It's spring, it's still early, everybody's excited to be on the field and I'm as excited as anybody."

By contrast, he observed, "during the season, it's probably one of those things where you want to make sure you're 100 percent [recovered] before you rush back out there."

The Giants also announced six roster moves to trim their Spring Training contingent to 44. Left-hander Jesse English, right-hander Henry Sosa and third baseman Conor Gillaspie were optioned to Minor League camp and catcher Eli Whiteside, infielder-outfielder Matt Downs and infielder Jake Wald were reassigned to Minor League camp.