Giants add veteran right-handed pitcher Wisler to team’s bullpen
Under normal circumstances, the Omni Hotel in Dallas would have housed executives, scouts, agents and media members this week for the always entertaining yet of t en underwhelming winter meetings.
Canceling the meetings to avoid gathering in-person was a must amid the coronavirus pandemic, but MLB franchises including the San Francisco Giants are still using the week to seek ways to upgrade their clubs and better position themselves for a 2021 playoff run.
The Giants made one of the first transactions of the week Tuesday, reportedly agreeing to terms with right-handed reliever Matt Wisler on a one-year, $1.15 million deal. Wisler owns a career 4.95 ERA and has spent the majority of his career with the Braves, but he may have turned a corner
in 2020 as he posted a 1.07 ERA in 25 1/3 innings with Minnesota.
The low-risk, potentially high-reward move was the type Giants fans have become accustomed to seeing under president of baseball
operations Farhan Zaidi. The Giants’ top baseball executive is wary of multiyear commitments and has been reluctant to spend huge sums of money in free agency, but he’s done an excellent job finding value and upgrading the team’s roster through bargain additions.
Since the end of a 29-31 2020 regular season that ended in disappointment, Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris have been open and honest about their list of offseason priorities. The front office duo knows upgrading the starting rotation is the Giants’ top objective, so after signing Kevin Gausman to a oneyear, $18.9 million qualifying offer contract to return to San Francisco, Zaidi and Harris remain locked in on pursuing starters.
With the addition of Wisler, the Giants have now accomplished their goal of adding a veteran right-hander to their bullpen, but Zaidi didn’t rule out the possibility of acquiring an extra arm for a group that doesn’t expect to bring back free agent Tony Watson. Watson was the leader of the Giants’ 2020 bullpen and while others including Wisler, Trevor Gott, Wandy Peralta and Jarlín García could all step up to fill that void, the organization may want someone with more major league service time.