DEC. 18: The Giants are deferring half of DeSclafani’s salary, including incentives, to the first quarter of 2022, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
DEC. 16, 4:06pm: The Giants have announced the signing. The deal comes with up to $250K in performance bonuses based on innings pitched, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.
3:27pm: The two sides have agreed to a one-year, $6MM contract, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. That comes in north of MLBTR’s one-year, $4MM prediction for DeSclafani.
3:08pm: The Giants and free-agent right-hander Anthony DeSclafani are nearing a deal, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. DeSclafani is a client of VC Sports Group.
This figures to be a buy-low pickup for the Giants, who are set to add a starter who has gone through an up-and-down career since it began in 2014. DeSclafani was a member of the Marlins during his first season, but he moved on to the Reds after that in a trade that sent fellow righty Mat Latos to Miami.
Cincinnati received rather impressive production from DeSclafani from 2015-16, during which he accrued 308 innings and notched a 3.74 ERA/3.79 FIP with 7.48 K/9 and 2.48 BB/9. DeSclafani missed the next season because of elbow problems, though, and didn’t return until June 2018. His production from then through 2019 was fairly respectable, but DeSclafani fell on hard times last season. Despite posting a career-high 94.9 mph on his fastball, the 30-year-old logged personal worsts in ERA (7.22), FIP (6.10), K/9 (6.68) and BB/9 (4.28) across 33 2/3 innings. He also had a rough year by Statcast’s standards, ranking closer to the bottom of the league than the top in most of its categories.
Although last season was no doubt a disaster for DeSclafani, the Giants have done well recently in signing starters to low-risk contracts. They added one of DeSclafani’s former Reds teammates, Kevin Gausman, on a one-year, $9MM pact last offseason. That couldn’t have worked out much better for the Giants, who were so impressed that they issued Gausman a qualifying offer a few weeks back. Gausman accepted that $18.9MM offer and will be atop their rotation in 2021. Along with picking up Gausman a year ago, the Giants signed Drew Smyly to a $4MM guarantee. Smyly also exceeded expectations, though he left for a raise with the Braves earlier this winter.
Assuming DeSclafani is part of the Giants’ rotation next year, he should join a group that will include Gausman, Johnny Cueto and likely Logan Webb. The other spot will probably be up for grabs, especially with Andrew Suarez nearing an agreement with a team in the Korea Baseball Organization.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Then Giants love there bounce back candidates. And why not? They have the money
And they seem to be good at turning them around too.
Remember deferent coaching staff
They’ve had good luck with reclamation projects these past couple years. We’ll see if they can continue the trend.
Giants have indeed been very good at reclamation projects lately. But until these reclamation projects help them finish at least .500 or higher, all they are doing is setting up the Smyly’s and Pomeranz’s of the world for bigger paydays while the Giants continue to flounder in mediocrity.
Except they traded Pomeranz for six seasons of their current starting centerfielder (Maricio Dubon) who can still provide value as a bench player capable of playing the middle infield/outfield if he doesn’t pan out. They got nothing for Smyly, but with such a brief trade window and an outside shot at the 8th playoff spot, that is a reasonable situation. But don’t let logic and rational thought get in the way of these epic slams
“very good at reclamation projects “
What are you taking about ?4 straight below .500 seasons.
The Giants aren’t really good at anything. Lol .
They haven’t fielded a winning team in years .
Boe Jiden:
Just had to say something negative huh? Maybe mediocrity isn’t so bad when many were predicting historically bad. But, just what is it that you think Zaidi should be doing?
I’ll take the Giant’s MO over those teams that tank any day. Since Zaidi took over they’ve been fun to watch and fans have still had hope for the playoffs even late in the season. Yeah, a WS title is beyond expectation, but for those that love baseball, being a fan has been rewarding.
Life long Dubs fan since 2015 is constantly trying to cut the Giants down. Poor kid, somebody needs a friend.
DubsDynasty:
Normally I just ignore your trolling, but I can’t help myself this time.
And you just can’t help showing your ignorance. This particular post indicates a very low baseball IQ.
Do you really not know that the term “reclamation project” is about individual performance, which has nothing to do with the team record?
It’s almost like mediocre teams with gaping holes in their rosters are better equipped to sign these reclamation projects than teams we expect to be competitive…
Not trading Smyly because of an “outside shot at the 8th playoff spot” deserves an epic slam.
Why? What was more valuable, a playoff berth or a 35+ FV prospect?
It’s super easy to look at his numbers and criticize the trade, but keep in mind, Smyly was injured on August 31st and had pitched 8.1 innings prior. Smyly was really good upon his return from injury, which took place AFTER the trade deadline.
No one, literally no one, was going to give the Giants something for him on August 31st.
But as my grandpa always said, “perspective is really difficult when you choose to be stupid.”
Man DubsDynasty, you really hate the Giants. Too bad your takes are always like 3 years behind the times.
I think Zaidi is doing exactly what he should do until the premium farm guys come up and the big contracts expire. Zaidi’s choices were blowing it up or trying to retool on the fly like he is doing. I think he made the right choice. Those tear downs work less often then people think.
My point was that these “reclamation signings” have largely been for the benefit of those players and not the team. Yes, you are right that Pomeranz lead to Dubon, but overall, the reclamation projects haven’t really changed who the a giants are: a middle of the road team.
@dubsdynasty
So you’re saying Smyly didn’t perform the little bit he played, Gausman wasn’t one of the top 2 pitchers on the FA market this offseason, Pomeranz didn’t turn into a guy with ONE home run allowed(which was a 3-run bomb), Solano didn’t have an absolute monster season in 2020, and Yaz didn’t make the All-MLB 2nd team? Wow the Giants are terrible.
I bet they have had more October success than your team in the last decade.
Boe Jiden:
“…the reclamation projects haven’t really changed who the a giants are…”
I disagree. These reclamation projects contributed to them being relevant late in the season versus simply playing out a string of meaningless games. Were/are they WS contenders? No, but if you care about baseball, it makes a huge difference.
Somebody has to pitch and they didn’t/don’t have much for starting pitching on the farm. Moves like this make more sense than buying at the top of the market when they are more than just a Gerrit Cole or a Trevor Bauer away from being a true contender. It may make sense to be a player for Bauer this year as a lot of money comes off the books next year, but not if he only wants a 1 year deal.
They have helped, but last year was the first year you started to see the position players start to solidify. The bullpen and some early defensive issues kept them from the post season, literally.
All- as a Reds fan I’m sad to see him go. Don’t let last years stats fool you. The guy is a good 3/4 starter. He’s a grinder and will fit great in your park.
He’s not really a reclamation project …. you will be pleasantly surprised at how effective he is.
letmeclearmythroat74:
I expect him to be effective. I saw him pitch a couple years ago, and I was impressed.
But a 1 year/$6M deal coming off a down year says he is a reclamation project.
No disrespect , but we can agree to disagree. He only pitched 33 innings last year and a lot of damage done in one game. The year before he had a sub 4.00 era , which for some reason. Is considered decent these days. He will be fine in your ball yard .. he will be a productive starter for you. Over a normal sample of innings pitched he would have leveled back to the back of his baseball card in my opinion.
letmeclearmythroat74:
You misunderstand my post. I agree with everything you say about past performance and future potential. But a 1 year/$6M deal following an off year says he is a reclamation project. Given that this is a year with a dearth of pitching and teams overpaying for it, he would have signed for more money/years If he wasn’t a reclamation project.
They don’t want to do multi year deals now.
6 million contract and the Giants had to defer some of it? Hmm…..
Man, the Giants taking heat for sucking but aren’t the Giants rebuilding? They’re supposed to suck.
Yeah, I don’t get the deferral. It’s not like they don’t have the money, or are up against the CBT.
Roark, Iglesias and DeSclafani. They were the three most vocal anti-DJ voices the last two years. The new model of pitching coach/strategies isn’t everyone’s cup of tea….
Iglesias wanted to be used exclusively as a Closer. The other two hated getting pulled in the fifth when they were doing OK (not great, but OK). And all them spoke up publicly in 2019.
Disco aint dead!
Another one wrong… Had him going back to Miami for the contest.
Had Disco to the Rangers… Granted I had like 4 of those middling starters going to the Rangers, so once they get Sugano, that’ll be another 4 wrong lmao.
I thought he was going to be signed by the Angels. That team needs a lot of pitching between 2-3 starting pitchers.
They really only need one rotation anchor like Bauer. Bundy, Barria, Heaney, Canning and possibly Ohtani is a solid group.
I’d prefer two. One at the front and one towards the back. Neither Heaney, Canning, or Ohtani has proven durable.
Much like Gausman and Smyly, DeSclafani has a ton of upside and talent. Could be a great reclamation project…. again… for Zaidi.
Zaidi will sign a good LH pitcher to compete for the 3-4 spot.
DeSclafani should fill in for Gausman relatively well. Now all they need is a lefty starting pitcher
Gausman was re-signed.
….That’s why he said “he should fill in for Gausman relatively well”, seeing as how Gausman is no longer on the team
semut:
Is this an attempt at sarcasm?
What? Gausman is definitely with the Giants on a $18.9M QO contract. Where have you been?
?
Is it just me, or has MLBTR overestimated the financial crisis MLB is facing. I wanna say that each signing that has happened thus far has been larger than MLBTR predicted.
How have the predictions usually fared against the actual contracts in past off-seasons anyways?
Teams aren’t really down as much money as they claim, guaranteed
Not really. There have been slightly higher salaries than expected for starting pitchers. There is a shortage of quality starting pitching on the market, thus a bit of a premium. The market for other positions has been in line with expectations.
Maybe, @Rangers29?
Typically the earlier signings for the non elite players tend to be higher, though. Those kind of deals generally become less expensive as the off-season plays out.
I think we’ll have to wait till at least February to really get an idea as to how the market actually is/was.
Free agency is moving really slow. So I think it’s a pretty safe assumption that teams are being fairly conservative financially.
Had a feeling something was coming down the pike when Andy Suarez was mentioned in going to Korea.
Good reclamation project for the Giants but they’re making the same mistake again: not insisting on a 2nd year club option. Frankly, it’s just dumb. If Giants had done this with Gausman and Smyly they’d be in a better position.
I don’t think the Giants never thought of attaching club options to these deals, as such an option is basically always a boon for teams. If you’re Gausman (or someone of the like) and the Giants insist on adding a club option, he probably declines and goes with the next-best one-year offer. All it takes it one team willing to forgo a club option for the player to leverage their way out of that second year of control. Obviously a one-year $2M deal is almost certainly worse than $15M guarantee that has an option attached, but ultimately I’m trying to convey that the lack of club options is due to negotiations and the free agent market, not the Giants simply overlooking the value of club options.
What indication do you have the Giants didn’t try offering team options (a la Tony Watson)?
The Reds couldn’t come up with 6M to keep Disco ???
Of course they could. Made a n organizational decision to not resign him. We’ll see how it all shakes out.
looks like he gives up a lot of home runs
but he’ll be moving to a bigger park so that could help turn things around
we just need anybody who can pitch into the seventh-inning
“Move the fences back out!”
Zaidi strikes again! His luck is bound to run out one of these days on these reclamation projects, but he’s done quite well to date.
Even if it does, it’s only 6M. Better chance that the Gausman deal will fall short than this one.
I was really hoping for the Cubs would grab him. Solid signing for that price.
Absolutely love this. Oracle is much better to pitch in than GAB.
Since they were likely out on Odorizzi. I like it.
Have you heard SF is “out” on Ordorizzi? (He’s certainly better than DeSclafani.)
Consistently inconsistent with a very consistent good year/bad year pattern. If that holds, the Giants are due for one of his good ones.
In Farhan we trust
So is Zaidi or Harris’s next phone call to Jose Quintana or Martin Perez?
Carlos Rodon is my prediction.
As a reliever, maybe.
He’s a former first round pick like Gausman and DeSclafani, he;s going to be a reclamation pitcher, can be had on a 1-year deal,
And seeing that Zaidi just picked two NC State boys in the 2020 draft, Rodon might fit that bill as well.
Who cares if he’s a reliever or a starter, he fits what the Giants have been doing for 2 seasons now.
I can see that too. I just think that whoever picks him up will be picking up a reliever, that’s all. Like a Pomeranz role. Same goes for Urena.
i should’ve predicted this one smh
I wonder when the Red Sox will get a pitcher or three so they won’t be among the four worst staffs in BB? I thought Disco would have been a good pick up and MLBTR had him going there.
It’s more than MLBTR predicted, but it’s just one more piece of evidence that more teams need pitching, when there are fewer available pitchers than spots. It is a trend started by what the Jays gave Ray, and continued by what the Braves gave Smyly, and the Giants giving a QO to Gausman. If teams want to sign pitchers, they’re going to have to overpay.
This seems like a solid low-risk pickup for the Giants as he’s been an excellent starter at times and despite his dreadful 2020 season still figures to be a very solid middle of the rotation arm assuming he stays health. There aren’t many guys who can put up an ERA in the mid 3.00s that can be had for only $6M. Sure there’s always the risk that last season was a sign of worse things to come… but he still maintained (actually increased) his fastball velocity so chances are he’ll also get back on track results wise and provide the Giants with a season one a pretty reasonable contract. He had been a guy I had thought maybe the Red Sox would be interested in… as they could use all the pitching help they can get… and he’s certainly a solid ‘bounce-back’ guy. Anyway looks like he’ll be suiting up for the Giants who now kind of have the makings of a pretty solid rotation.
I wish I had your enthusiasm for the Giant’s rotation, but I’m not sold on Gausman or DeSclafani (who gives up a lot of homers and walks), not all of which can be attributed to Great American Ballpark. The Giants are still really looking for an ace because Cueto’s best years, I think, are behind him. Nor am I sold on Logan Webb.
A good pickup for the Giants. Would have like to seen the Orioles sign him. Usually pitches to the 6th inning
2020 Giants fans:
“Gausman was amazing in 2020!! Those numbers are definitely real!! He’s a huge signing!”
“DeScalfini’s numbers in 2020 weren’t great, but 2020 numbers don’t matter anyways. He was amazing in 2019! He’s a great pickup!!”
Pick a lane. Either 2020 stats mattered or not. Shouldn’t be based on whether it fits the narrative of praising everything the giants do.
“Gausman’s numbers weren’t a fluke” and “DeSclafani’s 2020 stats don’t matter” aren’t contradictory in any way, shape or form.
You don’t have to agree with the statements, but they are not contradictory.
It just seems to me this is this basic line of thinking of giants fans this offseason: when a players 2020 numbers are really good (guys like Yaz, gausman, Wisler) they get trumpeted as proof of how good these players are, but when a player had a down year (guys like DeScalfini, Cueto) the numbers are ignored and we look at their 2018 or 2019 numbers as proof for why they will bounce back.
Just seems like there are a lot of mental gymnastics going on to convince ourselves and others that the Giants are this really good team. As currently constructed, the current rotation has no one who has put together back to back strong numbers over the past few seasons. I don’t see a good team right now and what I’m seeing from the fan base is the picking and choosing of what seasons to focus on or ignore to find a good team.
I do think the giants could be really good in 2-3 years because the system is top heavy with some premium young studs coming and a boatload of money to spend on bringing talent to a big market. The future is bright, no denying that.
Literally every teams’ fanbase elevates great seasons and ignores bad ones. This isn’t unique to any one team.
But those saying that DeSclafani’s 2020 numbers are more of an aberration while Gausman’s aren’t isn’t a contradiction necessarily. Both of those statements can be true simultaneously.
DeSclafani’s 6.36 xERA was a massive deviation from his career norms. Something happened in 2020 that made those numbers escalate. By all accounts, it seems to be an aberration.
Whereas Gausman’s actual stats versus expected all, for the most part, lined up evenly.
The folks who are discounting DeSclafani’s 2020, but not Gausman’s aren’t picking and choosing. There’s actually analysis taking place.
Yep Boe is correct. But that’s all 30 teams in one way or another.
Boe Jiden:
That is a terrible, superficial argument. Maybe you’re just looking at the small sample 60 game 2020 season, but most of us are looking at the larger sample of their careers. 2020 stats do count, but only as part of a larger picture.
Both pitchers have been inconsistent, having up and down years. You make it sound like Gausman has been bad every year until 2020. Both pitchers have shown an upside. And neither would be the first pitcher to find consistency later in their careers.
The 2020 season was not the defining season for each of them. Giants fans are encouraged by the successful seasons Gausman had in 2016, and 2018 as well as 2020. They’re also encouraged by the success DeSclafani had pitching in a hitter’s park in 2016, and 2019.
Nice to get the rare lucky guess on bottom rung of top 50 FAs.
I like this, you can do a lot worse than him in your rotation and the price tag is reasonable
This was the guy I was hoping the Braves would sign for their 5th spot in the rotation and they could’ve gotten him for almost half the cost of Smyly.
I agree.. Drew Smyly for $11m is insane; among other things the uncertainty of 2021.
Pitching home games in San Fran vs. Cincinnati ought to knock 1.00 from DeSclafani’s ERA. Giants aren’t great defensively right now, but Cinncy’s defense last year, save for Freddy Galvis (SS-2B) and Tucker Barnhart (C), might have been worse.
Solid and smart move by the Giants.
Giants just wasted 6.6 million.
I have watched him pitch and he was a bust. Glad He is gone.
Besides there’s no way the reds can compete against the brewers
Big market club!
How does the deferred compensation affect the luxury tax? Is the compensation spread across the life of the contract (as it generally is with salary cap leagues), is the tax hit deferred to 2022 as well, or is the deferred money considered spent in 2021 even if the money won’t be conveyed until 2022?
The same as any other contract.
The AAV is still 6 million next season, Giants just deferring some of the money to 2022 but the whole 6 million is counted towards CBT for 2021.
The Deferred money Giants moved to 2022 to pay, will not count towards the CBT since it was included in 2021.
Looks like a good fit on the bill. Guess we’ll see if the glove was the right size in 2021.
lol Giants taking out a loan for a cheap deal?
@dark, maybe it was Desclafani’s idea. He may be afraid of another season of pro-rated pay. This way, he’ll get his full salary if the 2021 season has less than 162 and accordingly pro-rated salaries. Smart!!
Cahill is better and cheaper! WTF Giants???♂️
I imagine he comes back
I wish the Giants nothing but continued hopelessness
Why?
Posey 2024