*Photo from MLB Trade Rumors*
The San Francisco Giants have signed RHP Anthony Desclafani to a one year, $6 million deal, according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. Desclafani can earn an additional $250,000 in bonuses tied to innings pitched. The Giants have confirmed the deal.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said in a zoom interview that "We’re excited to have him, he was really enthusiastic about the opportunity to become a Giant. We certainly are looking for players in free agency who are really eager to join what we're trying to build here, so it wound up being a great fit."
Desclafani struggled in 2020 with the Cincinnati Reds, pitching to a 1-2 record with a high ERA of 7.22 over 9 appearances, 7 of which were starts. Desclafani also struck out 25 hitters in 33 2/3 innings pitched. In his 6 year major league career, Desclafani has a 37-39 record with a 4.29 ERA and 656 1/3 innings pitched in 125 games, 115 of which were starts. Desclafani has spent his career with the Miami Marlins for one season in 2014 before joining the Reds.
Zaidi also said about Desclafani that "DeSclafani is a guy that we think comes with some ceiling, he's got really good stuff, good velocity on the fastball, a lot of characteristics that we look for. Obviously, he didn't have his best season in 2020, but in 2019, he really had a nice year. That would be a great outcome for us, if he can get back to that level from 2019. We think there is even upside beyond that."
Zaidi also discussed the Giants search for starting pitching, saying that "I think we're going to continue to look for starting pitching, it could come in the form of maybe a versatile swing man who could go back and forth. But I actually think that we have room to add another guy who we could rely on every fifth day. Just knowing that you need seven, eight, nine, 10 pitchers to get through a full season and coming off a shortened season where guys didn't log a lot of innings, that may be even more important. There hasn’t been a ton of free-agent activity yet, but the starting pitching segment of the market has been amongst the most active, not just in terms of deals, but in terms of conversations."
The Giants have had a need for starting pitching this offseason, as starters Tyler Anderson, Jeff Samardzija, and Drew Smyly have left this offseason, with Smyly quickly signing with the Braves. Desclafani is expected to be competing for a rotation spot in spring training. The rotation has Johnny Cueto and Kevin Gausman entrenched, with Logan Webb in the mix, and Tyler Beede expecting to join the rotation in May, his expected return time from Tommy John surgery rehab.
Comments
Post a Comment