The Giants have continued to build their rotation by signing right-hander Alex Cobb. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client signed a two-year contract worth $20MM in guaranteed money, and Cobb is set to earn $9MM in each of the 2022 and 2023 seasons. San Francisco also holds a $10MM club option on Cobb for 2024, with a $2MM buyout.
Cobb spent the 2021 campaign in Orange County, after the Angels acquired him from the Orioles last winter. It was an eyebrow-raising move at the time, since Cobb had struggled with both injuries and underperformance over his three seasons in Baltimore. The ten-year big league veteran rewarded the organization’s faith, though, tossing 93 1/3 innings of 3.76 ERA/3.83 SIERA ball across 18 starts.
Along the way, Cobb generated more whiffs than he ever had before. His 11.2% swinging strike rate and 24.9% strikeout percentage were both career-best marks, each checking in a touch above the respective league averages for starting pitchers. Cobb paired that uptick in whiffs with his typically robust ground-ball tendencies (53.3%) and solid control (8.4% walk rate) en route to a nice season.
Cobb’s run prevention numbers were partially propped up by one of the league’s lowest home run rates (0.48 per nine innings). It’s unlikely he’ll continue to be quite that successful keeping the ball in the yard moving forward. But Cobb’s blend of average or better whiffs, control and grounders should allow him to be a solid back-of-the-rotation option even if his homer rate regresses. The bigger concern might lie in his health, as he had separate injured list stints this past season due to blisters and right wrist inflammation. Cobb didn’t seem any worse for wear after returning from his time on the IL, though, with the velocity on all of his offerings remaining intact during his final few outings of the year.
The Giants entered the offseason known to be targeting rotation help. Only Logan Webb remained under club control from the team’s primary five this past season. They’ve already re-signed Anthony DeSclafani and reportedly were nearing agreement to bring Alex Wood back. Kevin Gausman’s departure to the Blue Jays leaves one prominent vacancy, though, and teams often have to rely on seven or eight starters to navigate the injury attrition of a full season.
There’s still room for further additions to the rotation, and there should be plenty of spending capacity with which to do so. Cobb’s two-year, $20MM guarantee narrowly tops MLBTR’s two-year, $16MM forecast entering the winter.
The Giants now have a little more than $113MM in estimated 2022 commitments, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. For a franchise that has logged player payrolls in the $200MM range in the past, a fairly modest Cobb signing shouldn’t be especially prohibitive to the club’s future goals.
Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link) first reported that the deal was being finalized, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported the club was making a strong run at the right-hander last week. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter) reported the $20MM figure, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic (Twitter link) reported the existence of the option year, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted the salary breakdown.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
good luck with that
Giants don’t need luck. They have a decent track record of making pitchers better and turning their career around. Gausman just got 110 million and was DFAed just 2 years prior.
Gausman was 28 when they got ahold of him cobb will be 35 when the season starts
Gausman also had the peripherals to justify the investment. Cobb, not so much.
Although, Cobb did have a significant decrease in launch angle, so maybe the giants want to develop that aspect.
How often does something happen like that for guys turning 35 when a season starts ? Rich hill though not exactly apples to apples ?
Cobb won’t be 35 until after the 2022 season concludes.
Since his birthday is in early October, likely he makes a few post-season starts for the Giants as a 35-year-old.
If Alex Cobb is starting postseason games for the Giants next year, then I’ll be a happy Giants camper.
Name a few
Name a few of the peripherals that justify the Gausman contract?
Over 32% k% 2020
Sub 7 % bb rate 2020
Above average spin rate and velocity on his fastball
Also if you review his pitch tracking, post 2019 Gausman did much better job keeping his pitches down and missed closer to the zone.
If that question wasn’t for me, then disregard.
That was mostly as a reliever, correct?
Giants are the luckiest team in all team sports.
What are you talking about?
Watch Cobb go 16-7 with an ERA under 3.00 with 200 K’s.
Kidding but wouldn’t doubt it with the Giants luck.
Daamnnnn, they must be hella lucky to win 107 wins last year..that’s some true luck!
@dubtastic
The Giants were lucky that the Padres lost 3/5 of their rotation. Guys equally as talented as Gausman. In addition to p lol aging without mega-star Tatis for a stretch.
The Giants are lucky that the Dodgers were without 2 Cy young pitchers and 2 MVP caliber players for a stretch. In addition to losing May.
The Giants are lucky that all of their 34-35 year old players that were considered done just 2 seasons ago (the last full season) all bounces back and had career type years.
The Giants were lucky to get #1 and #2 production out of 2 career #4 starters.
So yeah they had a ton of luck this past season. They lucked out by having backups equally as good as their starters.
The Braves lost Acuna who is better than any 2 or 3 Giants combined. That’s a huge loss.
They are the luckiest franchise in all of team sports. They were the underdog in each series in each season they won the WS and faced elimination a few times.
They got lucky bloop hits or home runs from some of the most unlikely heroes and won 3 WS titles with the worst lineups of all of the playoff teams in the playoffs all 3 years.
Look this up: worst lineups to win a WS. The 3 Giants teams in 2010, 2012, 2014 are all in the top 10.
Some say they won with pitching but the Phillies back then had equal pitching with Halladay and Hamels and Lee and Oswalt plus a much better lineup with MVP caliber hitters batting 1-4.
The Giants were lucky then and they were lucky this past season but their luck ran out in the playoffs.
No way do they come close to even 92 wins in 2022. Add that to the fact they have been a bottom 10 team the last few years and you have a 2021 anomaly type season from them.
They weren’t good the past few seasons and they won’t be good in 2022. Therefore it was a ton of luck that led to their 2021 success.
1st paragraph I meant: in addition to playing without Tatis.
@usafcop That was one of the most ridiculous posts I’ve ever seen and that’s saying something.
There are sayings that begin with “even a fool ….” in this case apparently this fool can’t comprehend that everything you just said stops being “lucky” and skill as well experience and planning leads to having a great bench, great pitching, good/great draft picks. Then those things lead to winning divisions, Wild Cards, 3 World Series Championships, 107 games in a season etc. You don’t get “lucky” to accomplish all that. Your ignorance and jealousy are showing fool.
Oh but yes it even takes luck for a 15-1 team to win the SB.
It takes luck for a 70-12 team in the NBA to win the ship.
It takes luck for an MLB team with 105 wins to win the WS.
To win the ship in any major sport a ton of luck is needed even from the best teams and I mean the most stacked teams like the Astros and Dodgers in the MLB. Not the Giants who had the most wins.
They had the best record but they weren’t the best team in baseball. They were barely top 12 in talent. So yes it took a ton of luck for them to win 107 games while far superior teams won far less.
My point was that it takes luck even from the elite teams to win it all. The Giants are far from elite. They had one good season the last 5 years. While other teams lost Cy young candidates and MVP caliber hitters.
They had a great season. But don’t make it more than it was. An anomaly type season. This isn’t a dynasty nor was their 3 WS titles with 2 seasons in between where they missed the playoffs entirely. Therefore it was not a dynasty. Nor is this the start of one.
Not jealous or ignorant or foolish to think this. Teams get lucky all the time. The Giants just seem to get lucky far more than other franchises across all sports.
@SFGiants4ever
So Lincecum Cain and a young MadBum and a weak lineup was better than Halladay and Lee and Hamels and Oswalt and Rollins and Utley and Howard and Rolen and Victorino?
Just checking what you think. I know the answer. Hell even the Reds were better. We know the Dodgers were and the Rangers and the Tigers.
Talent wise the Giants should have 0 rings. They overcame the odds each season and were facing elimination multiple times. They weren’t even the best team in their own division much less the entire league.
They had so much luck going their way it wasn’t even funny. They came back against the Reds and the Phillies in the same playoffs. Both teams were better than the Giants.
It takes luck in any sport to win it all. The Astros and Dodgers are absolutely stacked and have 2 WS rings between them over the last several seasons.
It absolutely telescopes luck to win a ship on any sport even by the elite teams and the Giants are FAR from elite. They are a scrappy team that gets lucky in the dumpster dive Olympics.
This isn’t jealousy. It’s the hard truth. Face it the Giants are good for 86-88 wins at best next season. You know I am right.
Ie. Barry William Zito?
Of course the need luck, rebuilding a staff every season via FA + dumpster dices can work but it’s not a guaranteed recipe to keep working, socially taking into account guys with some wear and tear. Giants won’t win 90 games this season.
Cobb doesn’t need to be turned around. He had an excellent year and was the second best pitcher on the Angels next to Ohtani. The problem is he’s always hurt. He didn’t even pitch 100 innings. He has constant blister issues. The Angels wanted him back, but not for two years and an option year. I’m not rooting against him, but this contract is really a stretch and there are better options.
Indeed. Alex Cobb is an injury prone mediocre number 4 guy
Perfect !
Someone has to be the no. 4
@tonygwynn You do realize the new San Diego pitching coach came from San Francisco. So, the Padres are copying the Giants.
The new HITTING coach is from the Giant’s organization.
The Giants will make him a #2 guy who will go on to sign a $100M contract while the Padres will continue to figure out why they can’t develop or acquire consistent and healthy pitching.
Fortunately that’s all the Giants need to beat the pathetic Padres.
Baseball is full of mediocre pitchers and hitters.
That’s all they need. Webb is the ACE. Disco will be the 2. Maybe they get another guy (Stroman?). Wood is a solid 3.
If it were anyone other than the Giants(maybe Rays too) and Zaidi I would disagree. Since it’s Zaidi and the Giants, I agree. With those 3, and then pick up another guy, I feel like Stroman would fit nicely(since he could really be the number 1 or 2. I include 1 as a possibility just in case Webb isn’t totally ready to front a pitchint staff
Sorry, accidentally posted before I was finished.
…pitching staff. While Webb looked amazing this season, I can’t help but remember his play leading into his amazing stretch, where he struggled a lot.
I think Webb took the reigns of the ACE out of Gausman’s hands when he faltered down the stretch. Webb stayed strong and came through for the Giants when they needed him too. Gausman folded in the second half. But not bad for a guy that had been coming out of the bullpen for a few a while.
With the exception of March and April, Webb was lights out. When exactly did he “struggle a lot”?
@sanfranb27
Webb struggled before his stretch of dominance. In 2019 he had a 5.22 ERA and in 2020 he had a 5.47 ERA
sanfranb27:
You must not have watched Webb pitch until this year. For me, in 2019-20, he was the source of much frustration. He pitched himself into poor leverage situations all the time. A typical AB for Webb was 0-2, then 3 easy takes that resulted in either a walk, or a 3-2 pitch that found too much plate and got hard hit. In 2021 he started figuring things out.
I’m a life long giants fan. But if Wood is a 3, the season will be a problem.
Disco as a 2? Come on man. They need a 2 now either by trade or Stroman or Rodon. And Beede needs to show the hell up.
Webb, Stroman/Rodon/trade, Disco, and then 4/5 covered by wood and cobb with Beede pushing them could work. But they need a 2 and maybe even kikuchi
Lol Beede is 28 years old how long are you waiting for him to “show up”
He didn’t even pitch 100 innings! Cobb is now a year older and with more mileage. If you get 100 innings out him I think you’ll be fortunate. Maybe that’s all the Giants want him for, but two years with an option was a bridge too far for the Angels– and they need pitching, like Cobb and the job he did, and know him best.
Cobb has found himself often sidelined due to injuries, so track record or not, good luck with that.
So do deGrom and Kershaw. Lol
Sure, Cobb is right there with deGrom and Kershaw. Which one of three will be missing at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony?
Wood is often hurt
Have they reported the numbers yet? I’m going to hold judgment.
Absolutely Brillant move. Bet you anything he has a better record then Gausman. People don’t understand that the ballpark means so much. There’s a reason people do well in Oakland and San Fran.Then when they leave they get worse.
if cobb stays healthy he will win 15 games with a 3.3 era
Hope so! But don’t forget that he’ll play half his games elsewhere. Coors Field is death on Giants pitchers.
Gausman threw 192 innings. Cobb threw a whopping 93 innings over 18 starts– that’s for the entire season.
The San Francisco Giants. LOL
Haha..?
San Diego sports fans ? A truly classic oxymoron…
Minus the “oxy”
Madre fans will be Madre fans lmao. This is literally a 0 risk signing. Just like last year with Wood and Disco.
“Madre”? wow, creative and classy insult…
When was the last time the Padres won the World Series? How many have they won? Padres are a dynasty.
Finally. Guess SF circled back to Cobb after Gausman signed with Toronto.
Like the two pitchers are at the same level.
Pete, definitely a downgrade (obviously) I really don’t understand this signing at all, this isn’t like signing Wood who had a history of being a solid pitcher, this makes very little sense, I think a desperation move honestly. Hopefully Webb, Disco, and Wood provide solid numbers again.
I don’t know the details but i feel very safe saying this isn;t a desperation move. Giants are so ahead of their timeline they have no reason to be desperate
Was the Wood signing ever made official?
I saw something on Giants Twitter feed about him going for his physical and after that it should be finalized.
Probably. Two plans in place at the same time. Gausman was top priority. If not, Cobb then add a second player with the money not spent on Gausman.
Exactly.
Yup from Alex pavlovic saw it as well said the wood deal should be finalized soon.
Don’t use logic, just overreact
Yo twins, are you awake?? You don’t even have a rotation for next year… and pitchers are flying off the board
Have to assume they’ll go hard after Stroman at this point — but so will a few other teams. Still some other help out there, but ya wow, arms are flying off the board!
He’s 35 when the season starts and he has to be managed if he is the cueto replacement that’s a upgrade if he’s taking gausman spot this will be a rare farhan fail !
Theres no chance he’s taking Gausmans spot
My guess is for now tentative rotation is Webb-Disco-Wood-Cobb-Cheap vet/Hjelle/another minor leaguer. Not pretty but at this point i trust Zaidi
He’s 34 when the season starts.
He is not 35 when the season starts. He just turned 34 last month. 2021 will be his age 34 season.
I recently bought a dog and missed a golden opportunity to name him Farhan. That is really what Farhan is, a dog hangin by the table with the real GM’s but content to wait for the scraps that fall his way. He is the dude at the bar that waits until 2:00 a.m. and takes home whatever chick is still around. Keep slummin it Fraudhan!
As always, you are negative about the Giants. Why bother? We’ve heard your trashing over and over again. Try something fact based.
Giants have signed several players already this off-season. You may not love all the guys they sign but they aren’t just sitting there waiting for the scraps. You’re describing the twins. They just sit around and wait until the end to sign JA happ shoemaker and Colome
They are the SAme team full of older guys many due for regression but they replaced for now posey with Bart and casila or whatever his name is and Bryant with slater and Estrada! And so far 30 year old gausman with soon to be 35 year old Alex Cobb ! Wood and disco retained where also more healthy then their usual standards! Right now giants are probably a slight under 500
I am negative towards Farhan not the Giants and all I do is give you facts. All I heard for 3 years was how FZ would finally open up the purse strings once all the bad contracts clear. Not only has he not done that, he has given some of those old contracts extensions!! It doesn’t get any easier than free agent acquisitions all you have to do is pay them. The Giants have the money and are in better financial shape than ever but Farhan refuses to pull the trigger. That money they aren’t spending isn’t going back in your pocket bud
That money they aren’t spending isn’t going back in your pocket bud
==============================
I got news for you, bud, Farhan doesn’t own the team, you nimrod.
There are a lot of people who own the Giants and they are getting richer because their puppet Farhan isn’t spending any real money. Prices haven’t gone down any since Farhan cut the payroll by $100 milllion so he gets a pat on his head from the owners for that
Negative on Farhan? They won 107 games. He’ll spend that extra 40 million, be patient.
There will soon be nobody left to spend that 40 million on which will become a convenient excuse during his next interview on knbr when he slips in a “you know” every other word in every damn sentence. I thought this guy was smart… you know?!?
Zaidi’s job is to build the roster. You don’t do that by spending whatever. Who’s to day he hasn’t tried to sign players? He isn’t gonna overspend on guys, plain and simple. Let the other teams do that and get stuck with bad contracts. He will pay fair value for talent and also bring in players from the scrap heap and try to turn them around.
@giantsfakefan
If the Giants followed your advice they’d be the Padres, a bunch of expensive unproductive losers.
Smart people don’t spend just to spend ya idiot!
Everything you say sounds spoiled as hell.
I see TonyGwynnSD19 got a burner account.
Why sign a bunch of FAs to long-term deals when your Farm system is ready to produce?
What exactly gave they produced outside of Webb and a reliever?
What exactly gave they produced in a decade outside of Webb and a few relievers?
Farhan seemed content to wait for the scraps to fall his way last year, too. How’d that work out? And, judging from the depth of the takes here, I suspect most of you are too young to remember that the 2010 World Champs were basically built from the scrap heap. Real baseball fans–real fans of any sport, in fact–know you don’t win pennants in the offseason.
Was it always your goal in life to be a witless troll? If so, congrats on achieving your lifelong dream.
To everybody that’s commenting…why? It’s clear this dude is here to troll instead of spur critical analysis of Farhan’s moves or lack thereof. Everyone is better off muting this guy. I know I will as soon as I hit Publish.
Spot on. He only trolls Giants articles. The fact that he never comments on Padre articles ought to tell people something.
So tad and kcOil, buster Olney was on knbr today. He’s predicting that AFTER the expected lockout, teams like SFG and NYY will have a “feeding frenzy” with free agents. He predicts they will not get what they had hoped for. Could be the reason those 2 (and other) teams are holding back with spending. And I’m glad they’re not signing pitchers on long term contracts or for Scherzer$. All these posters that are angry that FZ isn’t signing these recent signees must have forgotten about Zito, Cain, Cueto and Samardziga. I also think FZ could be making trades. Comments you 2?
Oops, *he predicts the PLAYERS will not get what they had hoped for *
I admit to hoping FZ would re-sign Gausman, or he’d sign Ray. But unlike most people that post here I don’t know if teams will regret some of these longer term deals or not. I can’t speak definitively the way some do, but I definitely see the potential for some to be bad.
But, FZ is a lot smarter about baseball, baseball deals, and probably generally as well, than I am. I have to think he had an idea what the limit was, and would not exceed that limit. On the one hand it’s a little disappointing, but I trust FZ, and have to believe he did the right thing not out-bidding the Jays and M’s for these guys.
And to what Buster Olney said, all I can say is, I hope he’s right.
As to those other signings, Cain, etc., I don’t think they were that bad, in general. A GM, or PBO doesn’t have a crystal ball. The Zito signing seemed obviously bad at the time, but I think that was Magowan’s doing. Cain had one of, if not his best, season after signing the extension, but then fell off a cliff. Cueto was one of the top FA SPs available, and also dominated initially. Injuries were the problem.
I didn’t particularly like the Samardzija signing, but it wasn’t that bad as a mid-rotation guy. Look at the 3 similar FA SPs that year, Zimmermann, Leake, and Samardzija. Of the 3, Samardzija performed the best. He was cheaper than Zimmermann, and gave the Giants an ERA of 4.24 over 110 starts. While Zimmermann gave the Tigers a 5.63 ERA over 97 starts for $20M more.
I know people hated the Samardzija signing, especially towards the end, but no team expects full value for every year. Yeah, it seemed like a bad signing to many, but relatively speaking, it wasn’t terrible.
Claude, don’t lump Cain in with any bad contract talk, if you know anything about sports and team signings then you wouldn’t even think of him in the same vane.
Cueto also wasn’t a terrible signing at the time, he, like Cain, had injuries that no one saw coming after being durable prior to 2017.
tad2b13 -Agree with everything you said, especially about Zito and The Shark.
My point regarded length of contract. Cain performed well for a bout half the length. Zito 1 great year and was playoff hero. Cueto too long and Shark too long. Yes, I loved the signings when signed. But they ALL ended up being too long. So, no, I won’t get excited about 5 year contracts for pitchers. Nor for $40 million even at 3 years. So SFgiantForever, what I do know about sports (kinda lame you said that btw) and about life in general, you don’t keep doing the same things that you say you’d never do again. And the Giants and Zaidi have said they won’t do these types of contracts for PITCHERS again.
Claude, it’s easy for us, especially with hindsight, to see which signings were bad. But nothing happens in a vacuum. I see posts all the time, where someone say they wouldn’t give so-and-so more than 3 years. But the result is, if you draw the line at 3 years, he signs elsewhere.
Most people making those types of posts are equating length with productivity. FOs don’t think that way. If they go 5 years, to entice a guy to sign, and they get 3.5 to 4 years of productive output, that’s a good deal. No one is signing a desirable FA, whose probably going to be productive for, say 4 years, to a 4 year deal. It’s going to take more years and some team will offer that.
Again, Zito is an outlier, but for Cain and Cueto, you have to offer the years or they go elsewhere.
But you’re right that the length is the issue. I’m guessing money wasn’t the issue when FZ decided not to outbid for Gausman and Ray, but that he didn’t think they’d be productive for a majority of length of the deal, Samardzija is a good example though. The last season was painful, but he performed at a #3 level, at an appropriate salary, for 3 of the 5 years. Fans hate that end of the contract, but that’s what FOs are willing live with. But, it’s always a gamble.
That’s not really accurate. As a Royals fan his arm was giving him issues in his short time in KC.
Tad, your post makes great sense. But if a pitcher is typically great for 3 (or 3.5 years or even 4) wouldn’t it have been better to sign him for 3 years and then maybe a 4th option year. What pitcher has been good for 5 of a 5 year deal? I’m not spending the $, the owner is and FZ is deciding how the owner spends it. So my essential point here is FZ sees 5 years as a waste when 2, 3 or 2-3 with options is more prudent. I guess my best counted to your solid post is this: What team has signed a pitcher to 3 years and regrets not giving 5 years to that pitcher. I’m having trouble finding examples.
Given the great arms that have flown off the market in the last 10 days, this is an underwhelming signing for the Giants. Even if they can get more out of Cobb than he’s EVER shown, he will hardly move the needle in SF.
Giants are running out of quality options. If they can pry Castillo from the Reds, and maybe sign Stroman, they can be good, if not dominating. I’m surprised Giants haven’t tied up at least on big-time FA. I know, it takes two to tango.
Nooooooo! Do NOT get Castillo. I don’t even know if the Giants can fix him. Sign Stroman for sure though. There are still some position players on the board that they have reported interest in, although we heard that about almost every top FA since Zaidi took over in SF
@pete fix Castillo? Lol what’re you even saying?
My apologies. I must have had him mixed up with another player
I think the Giants (who originally signed and developed Castillo) might be able to take him EVEN HIGHER. And he’s pretty damn good now.
Age 34 and often injured. I don’t get it
Nor do I. Why didn’t they make a full-hearted attempt for Ray?
How do you know they didn’t make an attempt? Only one team is going to sign a player. He has the choice. Not gonna overpay for everyone.
The only thing we heard was they were interested. Generally when a team makes a hard push we hear about it
I can think of 115 million reasons why they didn’t try to get Ray.
Especially as he’s never pitched to this quality ever before. Maybe he found himself, but if he’s not the real deal, the Mariners will be dragged down by 5yrs/$115M. Big gamble for that chunk of change.
It was a similar story with Alex Wood, who, while younger than Cobb is now, had been written off, but under the right conditions (and health), filled out the middle of the rotation just fine.
Although, Wood has had some decent seasons in the past. I can’t speak for Cobb who I know nothing about his past numbers
Wood as a Late brave and first couple dodgers years was better then anything gausman or disco ever put out! During the 2016 trade deadline I figure price played a role in it but dodgers supposedly considered wood a better pitcher then David price !
Did he do better than 2.80(might’ve been a little higher but I believe it was below 2.90)?
2014. With braves and 2917 with dodgers though only 25 starts he had a lower era than that
Wood was really good he still is he’ just always seems on borrowed time
Ah
DFA two years ago ? And the Jays paid this guys rather than giving it to Ray who won the Cy ? Unless Ray didn’t want to return to Canada because of the uncertainty with COVID or anything else personal related, that’s ridiculous !!!!
Uhhh….
Jays paid Ray less last year than the Giants paid Gausman in 2020. Ray wasn’t DFAd… but he wasn’t exactly in high demand 12 months ago.
Ray has more upside but Gausman has a more consistent track record and higher floor. With the Jays offense I see why they would prefer the player less likely to win a Cy Young… but also less likely to pumpkin.
The DFA was in reference to Guasman
Thanks Chaim
Did the alex wood ever get finalized? Cobb may be replacing him
Wood is signed for 2 years.
I don’t think he is yet, actually?
Scott, I stand corrected, I read something about them having Disco and Wood taken care of and looking for others but you’re right I don’t see anything that he actually did sign.
The Giants still need to fill the massive hole left by Gausman’s departure. With all the talk about this being the year the Giants would spend money, I’m not impressed with what they have done so far. They are losing Posey & Gausman and most of the best FA pitchers have signed already. I guess they could sign Stroman, but I think he’ll get more money elsewhere. The Giants will be taking a step back this season unless they make some late big moves or trades to improve their club.
After a 107 win season and losing Posey their taking a huge step back. 90 wins would be a major success. Looks like 7 teams each league will make the playoffs
Wonder if the Giant’s approach from here on out will be to land some reclamation-type arms. Could see Kikuchi or Bundy, among others, fitting that mold.
Although, Stroman or Rodon could still be in play for SF.
Zaidi playing like he is in a small market with a limited budget. Doesn’t look like he wants to make a significant (“splash”) move.
So far Zaidi doesn’t seem like a real “Executive of the Year recipient.”
I think it’s dumb if he’s in a big market but wants to be strictly like Oakland with player acquisitions ! He doesn’t need to limit himself to that he can do that and the big market stuff like the dodgers he worked for
I think Zaidi’s does not want to go 5+ years to sign a marquee free agent pitcher.
I don’t blame him. I like Kevin Gausman, but not for that long. Same with Robbie Ray. I think Zaidi wants to sign no more than a three year deal, and that’s not going to land any of the top free agent pitchers in these desperate times, where teams are paying too much $$$ (See: Mets and Scherzer) or signing pitchers to 5+ year deals.
Scott, people forget about previous long term mistakes like Cueto and Samardzija,not to mention Cain and Zito. If these knuckleheads think FZ is done, they must’ve slept April to October
Agreed!
No, Zaidi knows last year was an outlier and that the team will regress this year and is sticking to his rebuild plan by filling needs with stopgap solutions until they’re ready to contend.
History will show the Giants’ 2021 season to be one of the greatest one-year anomalies of all time. Not hating on their amazing 107 wins, as they clearly were not lucky…they were 107-win GOOD last year, but there’s no way this core, which had been in decline for several years, turns in another collective career year. I mean, Posey is already gone.
That being said, I think they’re a solid 85-win team next year.
I struggle find any kind of internal improvement from them last year to counter the sure regression and I struggle! Webb will do well to pitch close to the pace he was the last half of last year for a full season maybe a full year of doval but other then that I guesss yaz playing closer to the previous two years then last year and belt staying healthy ( good luck there ) for longer periods !
The offseason is young! Giants may trade from prospect depth for a pitcher on a rebuilding team rather than overpay in free agency. They might also put forth a high risk/high reward rotation and pivot to signing an elite CF or 2B.
So far Zaidi doesn’t seem like a real “Executive of the Year recipient.”
================================
He had the best record in BB. Why wouldn’t he deserve the Exec award?
Out in the first round of the playoffs maybe? Also that guy in ATL who acquired 4 outfielders once they lost Acuna so he could get his team in the playoffs. Farhan got Bryant though so maybe he deserves a runner up trophy
Precisely, JoeBrady. How can anyone criticize him for getting a pitcher who had better numbers than the highly touted Castillo? Especially when FZ just put together a WS contender out of nowhere.
It isn’t luck to have an entire pitching staff do well – to play above their level. That’s good coaching, just like the Yankees had in Matt Blake.
I think they have just invested pretty heavily in coaching. As part of that, it’s very much a “team first” prerequisite. That way best fits certain type of players. The big money “superstar” probably isn’t one of them. Don’t think Barry would be getting his clubhouse throne chair with these Giants. Change of approach that’s going ok. Here’s hoping Alex Cobb fits right in !
Redwolves3:
Executive of the Year is awarded for what the team accomplished the previous season. In the Giants case that’s 107 wins, and taking down the Dodgers for the division crown. What fans think of the off-season moves of a PBO has no impact on Executive of the Year.
Yet it will affect next years
Excellent addition ! Don’t fool yourself if you think the Giants are done in the free agent market.
I hate to say it, but the Giants may have a tough time selling tickets next year.
Hopefully I’m wrong…
Maybe you could supply some context. Maybe y’all west coast people have different priorities, but over here, in the east coast, having the best record in baseball would be perceived as a positive.
My point is that fans were expecting at least one All Star type talent to be signed by now. The ballpark is fully paid off, lots of money off of the books, etc. Go get a stud!
I trust what Farhan is doing, have a ton of confidence in what he’s accomplished thus far, but I know that folks want an acquisition to get excited about. Attract people to the park.
Even with winning 107 games last year, there were a ton of empty seats. I understand Covid, but the Dodgers stadium was consistently packed.
Like I said, I hope I’m wrong.
Check your calendar. It’s 11/29/21.
This guy seems to know what he is talking about!
@Finkle
You do raise a good point. Although, free agents are flying off the board so it’s increasingly likely that the Giants will miss out on “all-star type talent”
Is it better to go after “a stud” and be rejected or go after solid “team-first” type players that know their role and will fight every AB using the techniques the current coaching staff gives them to be successful and continue to built a “team”? As the saying goes, sometimes it’s better to be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Big FA hitters (Stanton and Harper in the past for example) will tend to shy away from the Giants due to their stadium being considered a “pitchers park” and therefore they would need to overpay to bring them in. Let FZ work his magic and trust the process.
sanfranb27 – Luckily, even that “pitchers park” label isn’t nearly as pronounced as it used to be.. I think the 2020 & 2021 teams proved that.
Bryant is still available. Would that fit your idea of what player they should sign? Also the Dodgers where coming off 8 straight division titles and a World Series victory. Remember how packed Mays field was after the championships.
Farnham is building a team not one or two guys. Not sure the Mets will make the playoffs with their current roster. Their spending crazy.
Another former Oriole replacing another former Oriole … Lol
Bruce Zimmerman and Brett Cumberland still have time to end up productive players, but…yeah.
A bit less upside to the 35 year old replacement.
Correction: 34 year old replacement.
Interesting. There really must have been no interest in him at the trade deadline last season. I was under the impression he was not dealt because of mutual interest in extension – unless the giants offer was too good to pass up
Farhan reclamation project. Without knowing the figures, its hard to judge.
I’m not quite sure what to think of all these Giants fans crying over losing out on Gausman though. Almost as if they forgot how mediocre he was in the second half of the season(or most of his career for that matter).
gmenfan5 mins ago
I’m not quite sure what to think of all these Giants fans crying
======================================
IMHO, they’re idiots. The SFG just had the best record in baseball. They got reasonable extensions on Belt, Crawford, and DeSclafani.
Wow lost Posey, Gausman,Cueto ( not a big deal ) , probably Bryant
Long relief, or bullpen arm. The Giants are still rebuilding, and last year everything went right. I’ll take a .500 season if the needle keeps moving
any ok pitchers go to sf and become good pitchers. and dumb teams buy them only to discover they are no good.
I had hoped the Cardinals would have been able to sign both Alex Wood and Alex Cobb. Both are reliable innings eaters but not top of the rotation guys. With a literal arms race every year, length in the bullpen is at least as important as lightning on the mound.
Cardinals signed Matz and have Wainwright/Hudson/Flaherty/Mikolas/Oviedo/Woodford/Cabrera/Libertore. Cards have some depth
And a lot of that “depth” is untested, injury prone or aging.
Cob and Wood are anything but “innings eaters.” Take a look at their stats. When he’s healthy, Wood is terrific arm, Cobb so-so. But we’ll see what the SF coaching staff can do with Cobb.
Cobb to replace Cueto on a 1 or two year deal isn’t terrible. Giants still need to find a replacement for Gausman.
I would say don’t sleep on Dylan Bundy. The Giants fixed Gausman they could probably fix him too
Cobb wasn’t’ “broke” in 2021. just nagging injuries.
I doubt this is the biggest move they make. I think that skipping on the tier 1 players it frees up the opportunity to fill several holes for around the same amount of money. Say they get Stroman or Rodon, then they get a Chris Taylor. You can now look at an Iglesias for the pen, and solidify pitching depth with a Duffy, Smyly, Paxton, or Bundy. You would probably still have a few bargain bin pickups as well.
WAit….I didn’t see Rangers anywhere in this story.
Because Rangers only deal in hundreds of millions.
As of now the Giants rotation would be Webb, Wood? Disco, Cobb and Hjelle. Yikes.
It’s worse than last year, yeah, but they are not done adding. As another poster said, Cobb > Cueto, and if the Giants grab Stroman or one of the top remaining FA pitchers, they won’t have the most fearsome rotation in MLB, but they’ll have a decent crop of guys in a pitchers’ park. There will be some competition at camp, too, for prospects to rise up. A year ago, Logan Webb was seen as a scrub. Maybe Tyler Beede will finally get it right this season if he’s healthy. Maybe it’s a Selman or someone like that.
Beede better get it going from the start or he will be DF’a and he needs turn down the number of walks or he will start looking like a career milb AAA player.
am sure his actress wife wants a MLB’er not a minor league bus rider.
Zaidi hasn’t given up on Beede. Has hopes. Bought him up specifically on a recent fan podcast he did with Fleming.
Can’t forget about Sammy Long as well.
Selman is with the Angels.
Disco Wood Conb Webb
The Giants rotation is also a fun word game
Hjelle is not ML ready (and even when he gets there he is at best a #5 but probably a reliever in the end). Hopefully they find someone because Hjelle will not help them.
Cobb sure had some awful years with Baltimore….am starting to wonder if Baltimore is a way-station for other MLB teams.
What kind of prospect capital might the Giants deal if they lose out on the FA pitcher market? Joey Bart became all the more essential with the loss of Posey. Ramos and Luciano are most likely untouchable?
Matos is their legit OF…..that is what teams will be trying to pick at…they need to KEEP him.
Matos is considered average. Bishop and Ramos are better.
Bishop is not better than Matos lol
@Giants74 Matos is considered average? He’s ranked well above Bishop in every ranking and is surpassing Ramos on some. That information is way out dated.
Ok. I confused him with Toribo. But, to say those two are not legit is ridiculous.
Matos has played a lot longer than Bishop. He should be pretty good when he comes up.
Pomares is their best outfield prospect in A ball and maybe the whole system.
No Matos is their best OF prospect even above Ramos, Pomares is probably 3rd after them.
Bishop has a lot to prove to get back in future plans.
Luis Matos aged 19, Low-A 15HR 21SB .313
Hunter Bishop Aged 23 ROK .160 , A .000, A+ .167 — across board 0 HR
Hunter Bishop is no where near Matos level neither is Ramos
although Ramos will get a MLB entry in 2022
Luciano, Matos, Pomares, Harrison and Corry are untouchable IMO. Bart would get a big return and we could use a defense first catcher (Hedges or someone like him) until Genoves/Bailey are ready to take over.
Giants would be selling low on Bart if they traded him now. He’s ready for (and has earned) an opportunity to step it up at the bigs. Genoves has looked decent, but has nowhere near the same ceiling as Bart. Bailey sucked last year and needs a lot more seasoning in the minors. So if those other prospects you listed are untouchable, who does that leave to dangle for SP? Ramos?
Bailey in A hit .322 then fizzled in tough A+ where many players seem to have hard time adapting.
Bailey hardly sucked he had bad luck in A+ for sure but his .322 was a bright spot showed he can hit – I bet he is put in AA next season and does well
@Datashark: I’m not giving up in Bailey; he may turn into a productive player. But he didn’t even break the Mendoza line in A+ in 155 plate appearances. He sucked there, no doubt about it. Also, it’s hard to know if he’ll stick as a catcher. He may end up being Belt’s replacement in another season or two.
But the greater point is that trading him now would be a mistake. Giants need him to demonstrate that he can continue developing or is intriguing enough to return an asset that they value more.
Corry is eligible to be selected for the Rule 5 Draft. He’s hardly untouchable.
Harrison and Corry Blah! they would deal them in an instant
Giants need to sign a top of rotation type player…if they dont they might as well sign up to 7 SPs because they are going to need to align their starts with best possiblities than an actual rotation….
cause outside Webb it falls down a few flights to Disco,
then Wood, then it trips like biden on a staircase to Cobb
After Cobb it face plants into cement with Beede or Long.
I actually like this move for the giants
whats not to like a pitcher with history of arm trouble, has had only 31 starts in 3 years, outside of 2021 next quality year was 4 years before….not a strikeout pitcher.
Maybe they can turn it around…and continue what he did with Angels which is just ok.
Gausman was a washed up SP until he succeeded in the bullpen for the Reds and our coaches got him back in the rotation. Gausman needed a third different speed option to make it as a SP the entire season and that showed up in the second half. It also didn’t help that Gausman lost 2 MPH on his fastball as the year closed. I’m glad they didn’t chase after Gausman or Ray. Ray has always had the strikeout stuff but never had the control. He washed out of Arizona due to his inconsistencies and a return to the West with the Giants would have been a mistake.
Another day, another pitcher off Chaim Bloom’s “can’t afford” list.
Yeah, where would we be without Cobb?
All things being equal between Wacha and Cobb the Sox are probably better with Wacha
cause they are on the cusp of signing and not heard of any other team in there on Wood.
The only reason that Zaidi’s moves this offseason, or lack of moves, is ok, is the Giants are not really in a “win-now” position. They have a strong farm system, with some players in it getting close to reaching the Major Leagues. One problem is, though, the Giants aren’t very strong in the pitching area of the farm system
@pete the Giants are pretty deep in pitching at the lower levels. They had the top 2 strikeout leaders in Low A and several others across low and high A that were right up there. Harrison has legit TOR stuff.
I’m basing my statement off of farm system rankings. The Giants are higher in the position player rankings than they are in pitching rankings. Not to say that they don’t have talent in the farm, but they definitely could benefit from some talented pitchers.
Reading my comment again, I realize it does carry a little more of a negative connotation than I intended
Unfortunately the Giants best hope for starters are all AA or below and none would be expected to be ready anytime before 23′ if not 24′.
It would have been great to get Gausman for 3 years to hopefully be a steady force near the top of the rotation.
Not to mention Corry and Beck.
Need to see the financials but seems like a solid pickup for the Giants.
Why?
Dylan Bundy will be next
He gives up a lot of HRs which Management tries to avoid pitchers who fall in that category. But who knows maybe they can get lucky with another makeover?
ugh!
With all honesty to my G-men friends- I’ve never seen these SD trolls in a Padre forum. Is it a conspiracy to suggest they’re not even Padre fans? That aside, nice moves so far for SF!
No, there is one guy (who I’ve muted) who signs on as a San Diego fan who is just a troll repeating the same negative Giants drivel post after post.
4/80?
I thought I saw 2/16
They usually
Sign terrible players and those guys do ok….so who knows?
High ground ball rate, above average K rate and an elite chase rate. Yeah that’s definitely something the giants can work with. With pitching costing more than most years, this is a good value.
I was hoping the Angels would bring Cobb back as a SP4-SP6 at 2/$16MM – good depth signing.
Last year was kind of a fluke because the older guys killed the ball, but the Giants have a bunch of young position players coming up that can replace the production on offense, and the relief staff will be great again. We only needed one simple thing – starting pitching, and it looks like we’re striking out on all the top starters out there with $100 mil available to spend. Desclafani, Wood, and Cobb are serviceable, but completely unspectacular. We need to sign an ace with the resources we have. No joke, Zaidi should fire our GM tomorrow if he doesn’t sign a Kershaw or someone similar! Tomorrow!! He’s not doing his job so far!
If FZ fires anyone for not signing Kershaw, or someone similar, he’d have to fire himself. FZ is the guy making these decisions not Scott Harris. When there’s a president of baseball ops, the GM is mostly relegated to contract issues, FZ is the one that determines the years/dollars he’s willing to offer. Harris gets it all in writing. Harris is not the one deciding whether to outbid the Jays for Gausman, or the M’s for Ray. Those are Zaidi’s decisions, and I trust he’s probably making the right decision.
Plus, Kershaw is no longer an ace, is constantly injured and—if he doesn’t retire—will return to the Dodgers.
Cobb stepped it up for his contract year, like players often do. He will will return to the broken down version of himself, now that he has a contract. Sorry Giant fans, I think this signing will be a bust.
Not sure how you can speak so definitively; that he definitely won’t perform. You got yourself a crystal ball or something?
Of course, it it’s a one-year deal with the Giants, doesn’t that kind of shoot holes in your theory of only performing well in his walk year?
Probably the longest anyone offered.
Darn, I wanted him to be an Angel again. He really inspired the club last year.
Solid sign. He will give 15 – 20 good starts. His splitter is so good it spilts blisters. Just dont expect 25-30 starts and it will be a great sign.
With Posey retired now, would you give up Joey Bart’s potential for Wilson Contreras’ win-now appeal?
No. I don’t think that would be a good move. Contreras doesn’t fit the “next man up” mentality that the Giants’ players seem to all have
In spite of the 107 wins this season I think Zaidi is still sticking to his plan and gonna go more long term.
Farhan is behaving like he’s back on the A’s. Maybe b/c attendance is down to 20k a game, or maybe he’s waiting for more prospects to graduate and become regular contributors before spending like a contender. Either way, this offseason has been a massive downer coming of 107 wins…
Bad signing. Huge overpay
I wish u well Cobb beat the dodger
Overpaid.
MISSED IT BY THAT [ = ] MUCH !!
According to informed sources, The Marlins were in on Alex Cobb right up until he signed the deal to join the Giants.. The Marlins made a “strong” offer, but not one that matched the Giants’ financial commitment. The Marlins weren’t the only team to be outbid.
The Minnesota Twins had also been linked to Cobb.
I believe SF will get behind him.He can pitch!People forget how good Cobb can be.
Cobb will be a nice fit with the Giants and is better suited for the NL. I liked what I saw from him last season with the Angels. When he wasn’t injured, he was pretty steady… you can count on 5-6 innings and 2-3 runs.
SF should take a shot with Dylan Bundy, who has the potential to turn into a frontline starting pitcher. He pitched like a legit #2 in 2020 but reverted to mediocrity last season. I’m sure he could be had for $3M. SF might be able to turn him around and into another Gausman.
Absolutely Brillant move. Bet you anything he has a better record then Gausman. People don’t understand that the ballpark means so much. There’s a reason people do well in Oakland and San Fran.Then when they leave they get worse.
if cobb stays healthy he will win 15 games with a 3.3 era