David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Farhan Zaidi listed plenty of significant reasons that support the Giants signing Anthony DeSclafani. He has a fairly strong track record, even with a poor 2020 season; he is a good option for holding down a rotation spot, which is sorely needed; even the switch from Cincinnati to San Francisco bodes well for a flyball pitcher.
But what may best get Giants fans on board with the pact is the fact that during a slow-developing offseason, with so many starters still unclaimed, DeSclafani wanted to be off the market and wanted to be here.
“He was really enthusiastic about the opportunity to become a Giant,” the Giants president of baseball operations said on a Zoom call Wednesday. “We certainly are looking for players in free agency who are really eager to join what we’re trying to build here, so it wound up being a great fit.”
The 30-year-old from New Jersey signed a one-year deal worth $6 million, plus an additional $250,000 possible through innings bonuses, to play for a club with which he should be familiar. He’ll rejoin a rotation fronted by Kevin Gausman, who pitched for the Reds in 2019, and Johnny Cueto, DeSclafani’s 2015 teammate in Cincinnati. Perhaps he’ll throw occasionally to Chadwick Tromp, a former Cincinnati prospect, and can trade notes with Giants hitting coach Donnie Ecker, who also came over from the Reds. Gabe Kapler, after taking the ball from DeSclafani, can hand it to 2018 teammate Matt Wisler.
DeSclafani surely noted how Gausman bounced back very nicely last season and will make $18.9 million this year, how Drew Smyly and Drew Pomeranz also elevated their value. It must have been simple for both sides to do homework on the other.
“We did have a number of personal connections [with the Reds], and everybody felt really good about not just Anthony’s ability but also what our environment could help him achieve,” said Zaidi, who will count on that environment to rebuild another pitcher with tools that haven’t been sharpened.
DeSclafani struggled through a miserable 2020 campaign that began with back troubles and never got on track. And yet, his average fastball was 94.9 mph, the best of his career. His slider is and was his best pitch, hitters batting just .190 against him. His four-seamer and two-seamer were hit hard, and his curveball was not good enough. They will take his live arm and arsenal and try to find the perfect recipe.
It will be easier doing so in the Oracle Park environment. While no 2021 decision has been made about the right-field ducts that, when closed, allowed the ball to travel more in San Francisco, it will regardless be a better park to pitch in than Great American Ball Park, for so long one of the premier hitters’ parks. Cincinnati’s home park was the fourth friendliest to hitters last season, an especially big problem for a flyball pitcher like DeSclafani.
Last season he allowed seven homers in just 33 2/3 innings. The short right-field porch helped lefties, who have hit well against him his entire career, slash .333/.417/.568 off him last season.
Zaidi said there are “certainly things from a pitch characteristic standpoint” that the Giants saw from DeScalfani from ’19 to ’20 that can be tweaked. But perhaps just a new home will do him good, too.
“He’s a guy with pedigree,” Zaidi said about the team’s third definitive starter for 2021. “He was I believe a sixth-round pick [in 2011] out of college and was a really well-regarded prospect. [He] has had a couple of injuries but also had a couple of really nice seasons with the Reds. That’s a known tough ballpark, especially for right-handed pitchers.”
The Giants still have rotation holes, Zaidi acknowledging there’s still room to add another starter (and probably a few fliers). Logan Webb will be competing for a spot, as will Tyler Beede eventually, but the depth gets shallow from there.
Adding a pitcher who, as recently as 2019, was above-average in posting a 3.89 ERA with about a strikeout per inning is significant. Zaidi referenced that ’19 campaign as further reason to believe, adding “there’s even upside beyond that.”
“Our pitching group, Andrew Bailey, Brian Bannister and that entire group, I think has looked really carefully at him,” Zaidi said. “They’re excited to get to work with Anthony on some of the adjustments.”
It helps when the pitcher is as excited to work with the Giants, too.
