This is a bit of a post-mortem.
At the end of 2018, we though we were in pretty good shape, pitching-wise. We had 5 regular starters, without Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, and they had collectively given us 125 starts during the season.
era war
Madbum 3.26 2.4
Holland 3.57 2.1
Suarez 4.49 0.5
Stratton 5.09 - 0.8
DRod 2.81 2.5
That's 6.7 war out of our 5 starters. For the record, we got 9 or more starts out of Ty Blach, Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto, before they became injured. What's more, we seemed to be getting out relief staff to work the way there were intended to. I remember feeling pretty good about the Giants going into 2019 - looking for our young pitching staff to build on 2018 and serve notice around the league that the Giants could again matter.
In 2019, however, our starting pitching let us down. We still managed to win more than we won in 2018 (a whopping 4 games), but not because of our starters. Probably because we got decent offensive seasons out of Kevin Pillar and Evan Longoria. Madbum was again pretty good, perhaps a bit better if measured by WAR, and Samardzija came back and really gave us more than we could have hoped for. Other than that, though:
era war
Madbum 3.90 2.5
Holland 5.90 - 0.8
Suarez 5.79 - 0.4
Stratton gone
DRod 5.64 - 1.4
also
Smardji 3.52 2.9
Beede 5.08 0.1
Anderson 5.44 - 0.5
Pomeranz 5.68 - 0.4
Derek Holland made 7 starts and Logan Webb made 8. The DRod, Madbum, Smardji, Beede, Anderson and Pomeranz sextet made 145 starts. That gives us a total of 1.1 WAR, quite the let down from 2018.
So here we are. Going into 2019, we have work to do on our starters. At least we have some, and hopefully that will include a healthy Johnny Cueto, and a Madbum, although I have a sneaking suspicion that the Giants won't do more than give lip service to re-signing him. That might be just my general sour mood talking, Know what else? Unlike this time last year, our bullpen, perhaps the envy of the league, needs a total rebuild. Tony Watson and Reyes Montoya, both of whom ended the season on the DL. We traded away Melancon and Dyson and Will Smith signed with the Braves (I haven't heard anything about the Giants trying to re-sign him except for a QO). So, to sum up, before we even think about adding firepower at the plate, we have a huge amount of work to do to have a decent pitching staff.
5 comments:
Speaking of Drew Pomeranz - $34 million for 4 years? Jeez. I realize he did a damn good job for the Brewers in relief after being traded. That is where he is anticipated to be used.
I suspect people are going to wait on Boras and Cole/Strasburg/Rendon before any big signings. Since the Giants have made no outward gestures to MadBum I wonder if they are waiting to see what kind of offers he gets. I'm thinking "path of least resistance." They'll sign him if the conditions are right, that is, he fails to generate a big multi-year deal and settles for something less.
That leaves Cueto, Smardj, Tyler Anderson, and pick 'em. So I think the Giants will look for more pitching help. They'll want to spread that kind of money (Smith, Pomeranz) around and go for lots of bodies. They made a play for Harper last year so it is not out of reach that they would make a play for another big name.
I really have no idea. And I think there's a good chance the 2020 staff will not resemble the 2019 staff at all.
We may have to adjust our thinking to "openers" and whatnot. The Rays made good use of that tactic and we saw "bullpen games" in the post-season. Team and roster construction for 2020 is going to be different. I doubt ownership will allow FZ a completely free hand, like I always say you don't want to scare off the season-ticket holders, but the PoBO will start to impose more of his ideas now that he has his guys (Harris and Kapler) in place.
And as you point out, the team needs it. Starting pitching is only one area of deficiency. The team needs a major infusion of talent. You can only get so much through free agency, and there doesn't seem to be the desirable trade chips to pull off big deals. The team has money, but we've no idea how willing they are to spend it. You have to figure attendance dollars are down and project to keep going down until the team starts winning again.
This is a rebuild. FZ can't say that in public, but it's what they have to do. Kapler has a three-year deal. I see this as a three-year process to revitalize the ML roster and deepen the talent in the minors. The Evans-Sabes prospects like Bart, Luciano and Ramos will be in the majors by then and will--we hope--be foundation pieces for a new team. If they can play .500+ ball in the interim, that's good, maybe they'll get a legit WC shot or two.
I can live with that. It is certainly possible that the Old Guard (Posey, Brandons, Longo) could be healthier and play better next year, which would help a lot.
Pomerantz did a good job in relief with the giants.
Dickerson, Peralta, and Solano get signed for 2020. That means the rest don't. I'm not surprised about Pillar, but I am about Anderson. Thought they'd hang on to Tyler Anderson. Of course, all these guys could come back on minor league deals or if they sign for less.
Post a Comment