With Smyly, S.F. adds a lefthander and rotation depth
Madison Bumgarner’s departure not only left a major hole on the Giants’ roster, it left them without a lefthander in the rotation.
No replacement is expected to make an impact like Bumgarner, but the Giants prefer not to go with an allrighthanded rotation and Thursday signed a lefty who could be in the mix for the starting five.
Drew Smyly, who came off Tommy John surgery to pitch for the Rangers and Phillies last season, was signed to a oneyear, $4 million contract and placed on the 40man roster. He’ll reunite with manager Gabe Kapler, his manager last season in Philadelphia.
To create roster space, pitcher Trevor Oaks was designated for assignment.
Smyly, 30, went 47 with a 6.24 ERA in 25 appearances including 21 starts. He underwent surgery in July 2017 and didn’t appear in the majors in ’17 or ’18.
“He’s now in that sweet spot being two years removed from Tommy John surgery, and we believe the talent plus the health make him an intriguing buylow lefthanded starter for us,” general manager Scott Harris said on The Chronicle’s Giants Splash Podcast.
“What we really like about him is he has a fourpitch mix with weapons to attack both righthanded hitters and lefthanded hitters, and we believe he’s fully healthy.”
Smyly had a promising 2016 with the Rays, making 30 starts and going 52 with a 4.08 ERA in 13 secondhalf starts.
So he’ll be another bounceback candidate at Giants camp, along with fellow 30yearold lefty Tyler Anderson, who made just five starts last season because of a knee injury.
Andrew Suarez and Conner Menez are other lefties on the 40man roster.
Smyly opened last season in Texas and struggled to the tune of an 8.42 ERA and was designated for assignment.
After a short stint in the Brewers’ farm system, he signed in Philadelphia, where Kapler was in his second season, and looked far better, posting a 4.45 ERA in 12 starts including seven scoreless innings against the Mets in September.
Aside from Kapler’s relationship with Smyly, Harris knows him, too. Harris joined the Giants from the Cubs, who signed him months after the surgery but eventually dealt him to Texas.
“We knew his character,” Harris said. “We knew his commitment to do everything possible to bring out the best version of himself on the mound, so we’re really comfortable with the makeup and the person, and we think he’s primed to have a good year for us in 2020.”
Smyly can make as much as $3 million in performance bonuses as a starter — and, to protect him in case he works out of the bullpen, $1 million as a reliever. Plus, he can make $250,000 if he’s on the Opening Day roster or spends 130 days on the roster.