Farhan and the Giants did it again.
Over the past couple of offseasons, San Francisco’s front office has laid out a clear strategy of how to fill out its starting rotation. Devoid of any homegrown starting five talent beyond potential 2022 ace Logan Webb, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris have relied on signing veterans to short-term deals with eight-digit annual average value contracts.
On Friday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the Giants and former Chicago White Sox southpaw Carlos Rodón agreed to a two-year, $44 million contract. Rodón checked in as Audacy Sports’ top available pitcher on the free-agent market in this abbreviated offseason, following Thursday’s vote by owners to ratify the collective bargaining agreement and end the lockout. Monday is the mandatory spring training report date and games are expected to start in a week.
Webb’s late-season rise makes him a prime candidate to be the Opening Day starter on April 8 against the Miami Marlins, but you have to figure that Rodón slots in as San Francisco’s No. 2 starter. The 29-year-old southpaw made his first All-Star game in 2021 and finished the year fifth in American League Cy Young voting.
Before becoming the White Sox ace, Rodón dealt with wrist and shoulder issues before undergoing 2019 Tommy John surgery. Last year he was limited to 24 starts, only six of which came on the standard four days’ rest, as he dealt with shoulder fatigue. That shoulder will certainly be something to watch for Rodón in 2022.
You can’t deny how effective he was last season, though, as he compiled a 2.37 ERA, 2.65 FIP, 0.96 WHIP and 185/36 K/BB ratio. His 12.55 K/9 rate would have been second-best in the bigs if he had enough innings to qualify. According to Baseball Savant, Rodón mainly relied on a 95 mph fastball (58%), slider (27%) and changeup (12%) pitch mix last season with a random curveball (1%) tossed in there. His slider was one of the game’s most unhittable pitches last year.
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Rodón is one of four free-agent starters the Giants have signed or re-signed this offseason, along with Anthony DeSclafani (three years, $36 million) Alex Wood (two years, $25 million) and Alex Cobb (two years, $20 million). Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Rodón’s salary will be $21.5 million in 2022 with an opt-out following the season, before rising to $22.5 million in 2023. This seems like a fair deal for both sides, in case Rodón is a star this season and wants to lock up a long-term deal.
Instead of handing out six-year, $130 million contracts like they did with Johnny Cueto in 2016, the Giants are taking a much lower-risk approach. Cueto’s contract eventually became a burden, as he made $22 million for 22 starts (4.08 ERA) last season while fading in mid-August and dealing with injuries. The Giants paid $5 million to buy Cueto out for 2022, so he got a nice parting gift.
In all, that’s $93 million the Giants have committed over the next two years for their four starters behind Webb, who is currently under club control for the next four seasons. That’s a stable rotation at a reasonable price, considering the Giants only have to pay Webb close to the new league minimum of $700,000 this season before he hits arbitration in 2023. In all, this seems like a smart way to build a rotation without any long-term strings attached.
Now the team’s attention can turn to the outfield, as Kris Bryant is expected to leave as a free agent. Japanese star Seiya Suzuki has been linked to the Giants this offseason, among other teams, and is in the United States with the powerful Wasserman Agency.
San Francisco made the first big splash in free agency but they’re probably not done.
