Rodriguez looking to prove himself again
Question is, will the Giants let him? As a rookie, Rodriguez threw 1682⁄3 innings in the majors and minors combined while pitching for an old-school manager in a more traditional organization. Bruce Bochy remains his manager, but the new top executive, Farhan Zaidi, skews more toward a philosophy that babies younger pitchers.
Ask Ross Stripling, whom the Dodgers pulled in the eighth inning while he was throwing a no-hitter in San Francisco, or Brock Stewart or Walker Buehler or Julio Urias — all of whom endured some combination of having starts skipped or shortened, being sent to the bullpen, or finding themselves back in Triple-A Oklahoma City for no cause beyond protecting their arms.
Maybe the media did extrapolate too much from Zaidi’s suggestion during the winter meetings that he might use openers, which caused a stir that he now says was overblown.
But he also has stood by his preference for a large stable of starting pitchers, not just as protection in case some get hurt, but to provide management the choice of demoting those with options so their starts and innings can be structured and controlled in the minors, particularly early in the season as they build arm strength.
“I saw the comments. I didn’t let it bother me,” Rodriguez said. “I’m going to come in here and change their mind, change their opinion and his mind-set about all that.”
Rodriguez is not all that young at 26, but in pitching years, he is. He has thrown just 590 innings since his conversion from the outfield in 2014.
Andrew Suarez, also 26, might find himself in the same boat after pitching 1832⁄3 innings in 2018.
Still, the Giants might prove more cautious with starter Shaun Anderson, who, at 24, is expected to make his bigleague debut at some point in 2019, and Logan Webb, who is 22 and might have a shot later in the season.
It’s not hard to imagine a season-opening rotation of Madison Bumgarner, Derek Holland, Jeff Samardzija, Drew Pomeranz and Chris Stratton (who is out of minor-league options), with Rodriguez and Suarez at Triple-A or in the bullpen.
Though the rules say Zaidi must pick a 25-man roster for Opening Day, he hardly views that as a finish line. He proved in Los Angeles he is not shy about using the transaction wire. A pitcher who starts the year in Sacramento might not be there for long, and once promoted, said pitcher also might find himself back in Sacramento tout de suite.
Giants bullpen coach Matt Herges is familiar with how this works. He was the Dodgers’ Triple-A pitching coach in 2016 and ’17. Herges had to play consoling father and psychologist to young Dodgers who threw in the big leagues and were sent down not just for lousy performance, but as part of more global roster machinations.
Herges understands the philosophy, and he stands behind it.
“These guys are young enough to where we are still stewards of their health,” he said. “We’re in charge of them staying healthy, because they’re very talented. We want them to be San Francisco Giants for a long time.
“Last year, I thought Suarez’s and Rodriguez’s workload got to the point of, OK, let’s get through this healthy and give them a full offseason. You’re always thinking about their health.”
Rodriguez is still his father’s son, inheriting the bullheadedness gene, and would have a hard time accepting any scheme that has him pitching less in 2019, not more.
“My goal is to throw as many innings as possible,” he said. “I love going out there for more than five, six, seven innings and giving my team a chance to win. I’m one of those old-school pitchers, like Shark back in the day, throwing 200 innings for multiple years. That’s my goal, at least.”
For the next year, anyway, Rodriguez will have an ally in the manager’s office.
“Bochy ain’t afraid to leave me out there, and I ain’t afraid of the challenge,” Rodriguez said. “I feel as the game goes on, the pressure, that’s when the best part of me comes out.”