It’s no secret that the 2016 San Francisco Giants were done in by a leaky bullpen. Highlighted—or, in this case, lowlighted—by a league-leading 32 blown saves and a devastating, season-ending meltdown against the Cubs in the NLDS, the club’s relief corps was the clear area that required improvement for 2017 to feature a happier ending.
The team plugged an enormous hole with the offseason signing of closer Mark Melancon, the only major move of the winter. But the Giants also expected a boost from lefty reliever Will Smith, acquired during last season’s trade deadline as the heir apparent to the retired southpaw Jeremy Affeldt. It spoke to how much the Giants valued the 27-year old Smith that they surrendered top prospect Phil Bickford and promising catcher Andrew Susac to complete the deal.
Smith appeared in 26 games down the stretch and was left as Bruce Bochy’s clear number one left-handed option out of the bullpen entering 2017. That is, until Tuesday, when GM Bobby Evans announced that an MRI on Smith’s throwing elbow revealed structural concerns that were not present in an earlier examination. Now, his season is in jeopardy and that could mean trouble for the Giants.
“This is a big hit, no doubt,” team broadcaster Mike Krukow told the Murph and Mac Morning Show on Tuesday. “I can’t sugarcoat this. There’s major concern so [the Giants] are going to hold their breath. He is a huge part.”
A large part of Smith’s value, Krukow explained, stems from his ability to go beyond what a lefty reliever typically offers.
“He’s very similar to what Affeldt can give you,” Kruk said. “He’s a guy who can get righties out as well as lefties. And he’s a guy who can have a whole inning, which is a big responsibility for a left-hander.”
Smith was also supposed to add much-needed firepower to the ‘pen. The 2016 Giants ranked 27th in the Majors in strikeouts per nine innings among relief pitchers with a paltry 7.91 clip, which meant a lot of contact in the late innings of close ballgames. Smith, for his part, posted a 12.8 SO/9 mark in his 26 outings and owns a career mark of 10.1. The latter number is the best for any Giants pitcher currently on the 40-man roster.
Now, with the news that Smith is out indefinitely with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in addition to other elbow issues, the Giants will have to find that firepower elsewhere or make do without it. It also could force Bochy to reconsider roles that he may have thought were solidified just days ago.
“The ripple down effect is simply that you’re going to have to have another left-hander come in that bullpen.” Krukow acknowledged. “That means maybe you consider taking Ty Blach, who’s a rotation consideration, and just flat-out putting him in the ‘pen.”
Other options to help pick up the southpaw slack include holdovers Josh Osich and Steven Okert. Osich, however, has struggled to throw strikes at times this spring and Okert is a 24-year old with 14 career innings to his name.
The pieces are still in place for the Giants’ bullpen to put last year’s troubles in the past for good, but it is clear Smith’s absence will affect how the later innings play out. For the time being, the Giants will need a step up in production from less prominent arms to ease what is thus far their biggest setback on the road to another World Series appearance.
