Giants making a big bet on Wood’s abilities
When the Giants announced they signed left-hander Alex Wood to a one-year, $3 million deal last week, it came as little surprise to anyone who’s followed Farhan Zaidi’s tenure closely.
The Giants’ president of baseball operations has spent the last two-plus seasons searching for diamonds in the rough, bounceback candidates and players with strong track records looking to reestablish their value at the major league level.
Wood, a 2017 All-star who finished ninth in National League Cy Young voting that season, has an impressive pedigree and emerged as an inexpensive option in free agency because of recent injury issues. Zaidi’s projection that Wood will start every fifth day for the
Giants is a modest gamble, but it’s no bigger of a risk than the recent ones the Giants have taken with other left-handers in Drew Pomeranz and Drew Smyly.
Signing Wood was a fairly obvious move for the Giants because the team didn’t have another left-hander slated to open the season in the starting rotation, Wood has a relationship with Zaidi dating to their days together in the Dodgers organization and because Wood is the type of a low-risk, high-reward acquisition who could help the Giants remain competitive in the daunting National League West.
The Giants may also see value in having Wood follow Kevin Gausman in the rotation as the veteran righthander relies on a high-velocity fastball thrown at the top of the strike zone to get batters out. Wood offers hitters an entirely different look.
“What’s pretty obvious from watching Alex, there’s a lot of funk to the delivery, there’s good deception,” Zaidi said Friday. “He’s actually most effective when he keeps the ball down, which is in contrast with where the game’s been going. He’s got an unusual delivery and a pitching style that is becoming less common.”
Wood’s 2020 numbers — nine appearances with a 6.39 ERA — won’t excite Giants fans, but Zaidi said the front office still has reason to believe there’s plenty of competitive innings left in the 30-year-old left-hander. In two World Series appearances last fall with the Dodgers, Wood tossed a combined four scoreless innings while striking out five Tampa Bay Rays hitters.
It’s a small sample size, but Zaidi flipped Pomeranz for Mauricio Dubón at the 2019 trade deadline based on four impressive relief appearances while Smyly turned 26 1/3 innings with the Giants into a one-year, $11 million deal with the Atlanta Braves this offseason. When a player turns the corner, it sometimes jumps off the screen.
“He pitched incredibly well in the playoffs, including in the World Series. For me, watching him pitch in the playoffs was really reminiscent of when I’ve seen him at his best,” Zaidi said. “As a group we just felt like the trend line for him from a health and performance standpoint and the way he finished the year, we have a lot of optimism that he can carry that into 2021.”
The challenge Zaidi and the Giants have created for themselves is determining what the rotation will look like beyond 2021. With Wood, Gausman, Anthony Desclafani and Johnny Cueto penciled into the first four spots of this year’s rotation and all four expected to hit free agency in the offseason, the organization could be looking at massive turnover.
The changes to the pitching staff would also coincide with Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Donovan Solano and potentially Wilmer Flores becoming free agents, so Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris may need to prepare for an overhaul of the front half of the Giants’ 40-man roster.
The good news for the Giants’ top baseball executives is there’s plenty of time to alleviate any concerns. The Giants could pursue a longterm extension with Gausman, re-sign Wood or Desclafani if they enjoy their time in San Francisco and also have other arms in the pipeline ready to assume bigger roles.
The organization is optimistic in Tyler Beede’s potential to start every fifth day as he recovers from a March, 2020 Tommy John surgery while Logan Webb is also viewed as a pitcher who could finally enjoy a breakthrough. With prospects including Sean Hjelle and Seth Corry likely to inch closer to the majors this year, there are several internal candidates who could be on the Giants’ radar soon.
It’s far too soon to know what the Giants’ rotation beyond 2021 will look like, but it’s obvious to start asking questions now that the team’s top four projected starters could have the freedom to pursue opportunities elsewhere.