GAUSMAN’S PATH TO OPENING DAY
SF believed subtle changes he made in Reds bullpen suggested he could be a top pitcher
When the Giants first signed Kevin Gausman in December 2019, the right-hander had been non-tendered by a Cincinnati Reds team that didn’t view him as part of its future.
The move was a blow for Gausman, who was traded from Baltimore to Atlanta at the 2018 deadline and designated for assignment a year later by the Braves. In the span of 18 months, three different teams told Gausman they didn’t want him anymore.
Fewer than 18 months after agreeing to terms with the Giants, he’ll start Thursday’s season-opener in Seattle.
“There’s no day like Opening Day,” Gausman said last week.
For a baseball player, there’s no feeling like being wanted, either.
During the 2019 Winter Meetings, the Giants met with Gausman to sell him on the idea of pitching in San Francisco. The team had yet to hire pitching coach Andrew Bailey when Gausman signed a one-year, $9 million deal to join the Giants, but he was convinced Gabe Kapler’s club was
the right fit.
Based on his performance during a 15-game stretch as a reliever with the Reds, a few teams wanted Gausman to pitch out of their bullpens. The Giants told Gausman they planned for him to start.
“We think some of the adjustments he made and better locating his split late in the year, that’s something he can carry over to the starting role,” Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said at the time. “He’s been a starter his whole career and that’s obviously a need of ours, too.”
Signing Gausman, who had a 5.72 ERA in 102 1/3 innings in 2019, was a gamble, but since Zaidi took control of the baseball operations department in November 2018, the Giants have had conviction in their ability to find diamonds in the rough. Their scouts led them to Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson and Donovan Solano and felt a pitcher who was believed to be washed up, Drew Pomeranz, still had some value if he was healthy.
In a tiny sample size with Cincinnati, the Giants saw a pitcher with an elite splitter who had begun racking up strikeouts by throwing his fastball at the “top rail” of the strike zone, as Kapler says.
“I’d seen him from afar and then we got him in Cincinnati and realized his stuff really plays up in the zone,” new Giants catcher Curt Casali said. “He’s got a lot of ride to his ball and that marries well with the split. I think his slider has gotten a lot better since he’s become a Giant, which is also really cool because he can add a different wrinkle to the mix.”
Upon arriving at his first spring training in Scottsdale, the Giants instructed Gausman to do what he does best. In other words, throw the fastball up, throw the splitter often and throw the slider sparingly.
The coaching points led to one of the best seasons of Gausman’s career. In 12 games (10 starts), the righthander posted a 3.62 ERA and set career-best marks with 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, 7.5 hits per nine innings and a 3.09 FIP, a stat that measures how well pitchers limit home runs, walks and hit by pitches while causing strikeouts.
“When players take big steps forward like Kevin has, they deserve all of the credit,” Kapler said. “That said, I think that we’ve helped him develop a foundation to make meaningful mechanical adjustments and to hone his game plan. There’s no question that we stress that even the most veteran players with long track records of success have more in the tank and we want to be raising the bar and not considering any player a finished product.”
At the end of an abbreviated 60-game schedule, the Giants placed another bet on Gausman’s potential. As a free agent, the Colorado native had the chance to explore options elsewhere but returned to the Giants after the club extended him a one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offer.
A few teams expressed interest in signing Gausman to a multi-year deal, but he chose to return to the team that views him as an ace.
“He’s probably one of the quietest aces I’ve been around,” Casali said. “I think the key point is that we’re calling him an ace and that’s a testament to how hard he’s worked, getting around the right people and putting him back on track. He’s always had the great stuff.”
When Gausman takes the ball on Thursday in Seattle, he’ll be the tone-setter for a Giants rotation that’s built on hope. Nothing Johnny Cueto, Webb, Anthony DeSclafani or Aaron Sanchez accomplished in 2020 would suggest they’re reliable starters who can be trusted to take the ball every fifth day, but that’s exactly how the Giants view each of them.
A front office led by Zaidi and field staff led by Kapler knows not everything will go according to plan, but they also hope that their starters are able to follow Gausman’s lead, believing that past results don’t necessarily foreshadow future performance.
The Giants convinced Gausman he’s an ace, and they’re betting he can show others what they’re capable of too.
“I would hope every guy feels like he’s the ace on the day that he’s pitching,” Gausman said. “But I think more than anything, those first three guys in the rotation, those are kind of the anchors. These guys are going to pitch the majority of the innings this year, but I hope it’s all five of us.”