The Giants have had some talks with ace right-hander Logan Webb about a long-term contract, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Neither Zaidi or Webb gave any specifics about the nature of the talks, or whether or not a deal could be anywhere close to completion.
Webb was arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason, and he and the Giants avoided a hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $4.6MM deal prior to the filing deadline. The righty has two more arb years remaining before he is scheduled to hit free agency following the 2025 season, and since Webb only turned 26 last November, he’ll still be in his prime when he reaches the open market.
The Giants’ willingness to sign long-term contracts has long been a topic of conversation during Zaidi’s tenure, as the club hasn’t officially gone beyond three guaranteed years to any player since Zaidi was hired following the 2018 season. Of course, that fact carries a significant asterisk, as the Giants thought they’d signed Carlos Correa to a 13-year, $350MM contract in December before concerns from Correa’s physical about the shortstop’s right leg and ankle prevented the deal from being finalized. San Francisco was also a prime bidder for both Aaron Judge this offseason and Bryce Harper in the 2018-19 offseason, indicating that Zaidi’s front office is willing to splurge for a premium talent.
After two excellent seasons in the Giants’ rotation, Webb certainly looks like a blue-chip talent in his own right. A fourth-round pick for the Giants in the 2014 draft, the native of Rocklin, California had a 5.36 ERA over 94 innings in 2019-20, though the FIP (4.15) and xFIP (4.25) metrics and a .340 BABIP indicated that Webb’s ERA was in part due to bad luck.
That fortune changed in 2021-22, when Webb had a 2.96 ERA, 58.4% grounder rate, 23.2% strikeout rate, and 6.1% walk rate over 340 2/3 innings. While Webb’s K% and whiff rate dipped below average in 2022, he made up for it with strong control and a strong ability to keep the ball on the ground. Among all qualified pitchers, only Houston’s Framber Valdez has had a better groundball rate than Webb over the last two seasons. Webb’s FIP and xFIP from 2021-2022 are pretty similar to his ERA (and his .299 BABIP is roughly average), though the argument can certainly be made that such a grounder-heavy pitcher could’ve been even more effective in front of a better defense than the Giants’ collection of subpar infield gloves.
Health-wise, Webb missed about six weeks with a shoulder strain in 2021, and a lower-back strain sent him to the IL right at the end of the 2022 campaign. Webb underwent a Tommy John surgery in 2016, and he also served an 80-game PED suspension in 2019 after testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone.
Any injury history comes under more of a microscope in the wake of the Correa situation, though on paper, it would seem like the Giants can be reasonably confident about Webb’s long-term health. While discussing an extension with a young star is due diligence for any team, the fact that the Giants have already had some level of negotiation with Webb’s representatives at the ACES agency is perhaps also a hint that the team is comfortable in making a long-term commitment.
Sandy Alcantara’s five-year, $56MM extension with the Marlins from November 2021 stands out as a logical comp for Webb’s camp, in no small part because it is currently the largest deal ever given to a pitcher with between three and four years of Major League service time. Alcantara signed that extension at age-26 (the same age as Webb now) and the two hurlers also share a similar profile as grounder-heavy pitchers.
There is a slight difference in that Alcantara was also in his first offseason of arbitration eligibility at the time of the extension, but hadn’t yet agreed to his salary for the next year. As such, his deal covered all three arb years, Alcantara’s first two free agent years, and possibly the 2027 season if Miami exercises a $21MM club option. Though a Webb extension could overwrite his 2023 salary, a new deal would theoretically begin with the 2024 season, meaning that the Giants would have to pay a larger price if wanted to cover another one of Webb’s free agent years.
In terms of long-term payroll, San Francisco has plenty of open space for the future, with such big salaries as Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford, Alex Wood and (depending on player or club options) Michael Conforto, Ross Stripling, and Alex Cobb all potentially coming off the books next winter. It leaves the Giants with lots of flexibility in locking up Webb as a cornerstone piece of a rotation that is otherwise filled with veterans on shorter-term contracts, and the team still has plenty of space to pursue other high-priced free agent or trade targets next winter after missing out on Correa and Judge.
Using that correa money, but wisely.
Not directed at Mark in particular, but no participation trophies go to so-called “prime [losing] bidders”, especially not one with SF revenue.
Very true, but I think the negative publicity they’ve received is somewhat unfair. They made very competitive offers to all of the above mentioned FAs, particularly Judge and Correa. They may be losing out on big names, but it’s not because they won’t spend.
They made offers that were competitive in yesterday’s market, not today’s. No attaboys for that.
idiot
Medical issues aside, what they offered Correa was more than any other SS was signed for and according to most reports, their offer to Judge was higher than what the Yankees signed him for. Nothing they could’ve done to control his history with them. Only so much any club can do.
People are talking about the Giants missing out this winter but wait until they go all in on Ohtani
Zaidi has zero chance of signing Ohtani.
Ohtani wants to stay on the west coast so SFG does have a chance. It will depend on this year’s team performance though.
Ohtani wants to go to a winning team. He won’t just go to the highest bidder, he’s not like Correa. He’s been wasted for years. Giants would need to morph into a contender quickly and they aren’t close unless the farm catches fire asap
He will only go to a contender.
They will come in second in the Ohtani bidding. I’m a huge Giants fan, but even I probably wouldn’t want to sign there if I had competitive offers from teams that were run better.
Yeah. A huge Giants fan. How many times have you quit on them this off season ?
I’ve lost count.
#BringBackSimonHampton
This guy reminds me of Brandon Webb. What a sad story
Brandon Webb had an awesome career and is filthy rich. Nuthin to be sad about.
I had high hopes for him in Texas.
Brandon Webb was one of my favorite guys to watch! He had incredible stuff. Criminally underrated today, you rarely hear people bring him up anymore.
Webb 8 years 160 mil. That’s my guess, what it takes.
Lolo is the staff ace this year. He could top Alcantara’s 5/56 now (maybe 5/65) or wait a year and if he has another excellent season add 2 or 3 years on top of Alcantara’s contract. (maybe 8/125).
He is your ace. Lock him up.
Not signing Webb during 2023 to an extension sends a clear message that Zaidi doesn’t value star talent; especially homegrown (within Giants farm system) and being from Rocklin, CA. Zaidi needs to extend Webb now.
Young man Logan
Toronto should sit down with Manoah and use Sandy Alcantara’s contract as the basis to extend Manoah. 5/$56 Million plus a $21 Million option year. Manoah would have lifetime protection and even if he has a Mickey Lolich body, if he can pitch like Lolich for 7 more years, that would be fine by me.
Spencer striders contract with the braves looks like a more realistic deal for Manoah. 6 years and 75 million with a 22mill option.
The Giants getting ahead of the inevitable “you haven’t signed Webb to an extension” tantrum.
Reds should have done it with Castillo before he got out of their price range. Giants have the right idea here.
For Logan Webb I could see 7/150 getting it done. Also if there is any chance of sighing any big name free agents then SF Giants they need to fire Farhan Zaidi. He has done nothing to improve the Giants at all. Not even in the draft. He might have drafted one or two but it is too early to tell that. This of course is my opinion.
Zaidi’s had 4 seasons (now beginning 5th year) to to make a real difference. No marquee players. Let Gausman and Rodon leave Giants. Zaidi’s style is 2nd / 3rd tier players, platoon players, and players coming off injuries.
There’s about $20 mil luxury tax space according to Spotrac. Should be able to extend him.
There’s a lot to like about Webb. I like the fact that even though he pitches for San Francisco he politely refuses to root for the 49ers and remains a loyal Raider fan. This may seem like a stupid thing to point out in a baseball player but it shows loyalty and makes him the type of player you want to keep on your team for the long haul imo.
They had a pretty good shot at signing ohtani when he first came over. I believe they were runners up to the Angels if I recall correctly.