Giants add reliever Wisler on 1year deal
Six days after majorleague teams dumped nearly 60 players into free agency rather than offer them 2021 contracts, the Giants added a reliever Tuesday by pouncing on a righthander let go by the Twins.
The Giants signed Matt Wisler to a oneyear contract worth $ 1.15 million with another $ 500,000 in potential gamespitched and gamesfinished bonuses.
Wisler, 28, is coming off the best season of his career, which began with Atlanta in 2015. He pitched in 18 of the Twins’ 60 games in 2020 and had an ERA of 1.07 with a careerbest strikeout rate of 12.4 per nine innings.
Walks were an issue, though. He had 14 in 251⁄ 3 innings.
Like his former Minnesota teammate Sergio Romo, Wisler is a slider machine. In fact, Wisler throws his even more than Romo does — 83% of the time last year. Wisler’s fastball, which averaged 92 mph, is his secondary pitch.
That gives manager Gabe Kapler a reliever who can thwart hitters with a different look in a bullpen that the Giants hope will be full of gasthrowers.
The Giants are expected to add more relievers this offseason, as well as an experienced catcher and some lefthanded bats to balance the offense.