General manager bullish on S.F. roster additions
The Giants set out to fill several voids this offseason, and they’re well into the process after acquiring seven players who were added to the 40man roster.
The biggest holes were in the rotation, and the Giants offered Kevin Gausman an $18.9 million qualifying offer, which he accepted, and signed Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood as free agents.
Here’s general manager Scott Harris’ scouting report, from his appearance on The Chronicle’s Giants Splash podcast, on the seven newcomers:
Starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani (free agent, $6 million): “The first thing you notice about Anthony is he has a big arm, which should give us three starters with DeSclafani, Gausman and (Tyler) Beede, when he’s back, who can touch the upper 90s with their fourseam fastballs. I think that’ll create some margin for error. Anthony complements that big fastball with two distinct breaking balls and a changeup and sinker to give him five weapons to attack hitters.”
Starting pitcher Alex Wood (free agent, $3 million): “Alex’s deception and pitchability, especially down in the zone, add a new dimension to our rotation, complementing some of our righthanded starters who like to pitch up in the zone. We’re also bullish on the quality of stuff he showed in last year’s postseason and our medical staff ’s evaluation of his health.”
Catcher Curt Casali (free agent, $1.5 million): “Curt is a wellrounded catcher. He contributes in all facets of the game. He’s an excellent receiver and gamecaller. He brings a patient, disciplined approach to the plate and has some impressive pullside power. Last but not least, Curt is an outstanding teammate. He knows how to get the most out of pitchers. He’s an excellent evaluator of pitching, and he’s constantly seeking ways to get better.”
Reliever Matt Wisler (free agent, $1.15 million): “Matt was a guy we didn’t expect to be available in free agency. He was nontendered by the Twins. We tried to pounce on him quickly. I called his agent the night he was nontendered . ... He features one of the best righthanded sliders in the game. He spiked his usages of his slider last year and found some very impressive results.”
Reliever John Brebbia (free agent, $800,000): “I got a frontrow seat to see what John Brebbia could do in the NL Central. He dominated over the last few years with the Cardinals in the back end of the bullpen before succumbing to Tommy John surgery in June of 2020. We found him suddenly available because of the injury. I should credit our medical staff, which did a great job investigating his rehab progression and concluded he’s on track for a full recovery.”
Utility infielder Jason Vosler (free agent): “We drafted Vosler in Chicago before we traded him to San Diego, so I always followed his career. What’s exciting about Jason is, he’s a versatile lefthanded bat with a strong track record against righthanded pitching, and he can play almost any position on the infield. He fits our roster very well. There were times during the 2020 season we felt we were one lefthanded bat short.”
Converted reliever Dedniel Núñez (Rule 5 draft): “We saw a significant velocity spike in instructs with the Mets. We’ve always been a fan of his power breaking ball. We thought that, similar to (Camilo) Doval, (Gregory) Santos and (Kervin) Castro, he may have taken the next step in his development, and there was an opportunity for us to develop him cheaply in the Rule 5 draft, bring him to camp and let him work with our pitching coaches.”