The San Francisco Giants are working aggressively to fill the question marks in the 2022 rotation.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, right-hander Anthony DeSclafani has agreed to a three-year, $36 million contract and southpaw Alex Wood is finalizing a two-year, $20 million contract to remain in San Francisco. Both signings were reported within minutes of each other on Monday afternoon.
The team officially announced the DeSclafani signing via Twitter, adding that outfielder Alex Dickerson has been designated for assignment to make room for DeSclafani on the 40-man roster. As of 4 p.m. PT Monday, the Giants are yet to make the Wood signing official.
The Giants are trying to keep the band together after last year’s magical 107-win season. DeSclafani and Wood return to shore up two of the four starting rotation vacancies behind possible 2022 ace Logan Webb.
DeSclafani, 31, rebounded after a poor 2020 by posting a 3.17 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 152/42 K/BB ratio in 167 2/3 innings of work. Wood, 30, also thrived on a one-year deal after a poor 2020 campaign. In 26 starts with the Giants, the lefty recorded a 3.83 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 152/39 K/BB ratio in 138 2/3 innings of work.
The two vets bring a measure of stability and continuity to the 2022 rotation and the Giants could be close to making another signing as well. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday morning the Giants are also “making a strong push” to sign right-hander Alex Cobb, a 34-year-old right-hander who was limited to 18 starts last year for the Los Angeles Angels. The Giants remain a logical landing spot for right-hander Kevin Gausman, who also had a solid season on a one-year deal with San Francisco in 2021.
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Last week on 95.7 The Game's "Willard and Dibs", Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford said he hoped the Giants would keep the band together.
“Obviously, we have a lot of free agents, so it’s possible that we have half of a new roster basically,” Crawford said. “I’m hoping to bring back at least a few of our guys that we have this year and kind of keep that group together and try to run it back next year.”
Beyond Webb, the Giants will be veteran-laden in the rotation once again in 2022. DeSclafani and Wood also return on multi-year deals to an organization where they should certainly feel comfortable given last year’s success. Given the market for starting pitchers this year and their respective ages, these contracts for DeSclafani and Wood seem fair for both sides.
Though MLB and the Players Association look headed toward a lockout beginning on Dec. 1, the Giants are moving quickly to assemble their starters after seeing other top arms like Justin Verlander (Houston Astros) and Noah Syndergaard (Angels) sign contracts already.
Monday's signings should give the Giants and their fans some peace of mind heading into an uncertain offseason. But 2021 National League Executive of the Year Farhan Zaidi still has the budget to sign a bona fide ace like Max Scherzer or another premiere arm like Marcus Stroman. Stay tuned, the hot stove in San Francisco could be heating up over the final days of November.
