Bullpen situation remains up in arms
It’s July 23, 2020 and the Giants have a narrow ninth-inning lead at Dodger Stadium.
Considering the staggering talent gap between the two squads, it’s difficult to envision the Giants holding a lead over the Dodgers on Opening Day.
With a week remaining until the start of the season, it’s even more difficult guessing who Giants manager Gabe Kapler would trust to close out the game.
After 2019 All-Star closer Will Smith rejected a qualifying offer from the Giants to sign a three-year deal with the Atlanta Braves this offseason, San Francisco knew replacing the lightsout left-hander would be among its greatest challenges in 2020. As the regular season draws near, the Giants still don’t know who, if anyone, will emerge as Smith’s replacement.
When asked about his bullpen earlier this week, Kapler said the Giants aren’ t in a rush to determine which pitchers will appear in highleverage situations.
“I don’t think we’re in a race to set that and I don’t think we have any urgency and probably more importantly, we don’t really have the personnel with the track record where we can just slot guys into roles,” Kapler said.
Kapler and Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi have indicated the club won’t have a conventional pitching staff at the beginning of the regular season.
Don’t believe them? Consider the following.
Less than two weeks before their first game, the Giants had three of their four projected starting pitchers — Jeff Samardzija, Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly — all throw multiple innings in the same intrasquad game. It’s unusual to have starters ever pitch on the same day during a normal spring training, but to have all three throw in a high-intensity setting so close to the regular season was the best indication yet that even the Giants aren’t sure how they’ll deploy their pitchers early in the summer schedule.
If the Giants can’t say who will start the first four games of the season, it’s a mystery who will pitch at all. Even if the team holds late leads against the Dodgers, Kapler hasn’t committed to naming any pitcher to a typical role.
“This is going to take a lot of projection and a lot of scouting,” Kapler admitted. “More evaluation than most field staffs are used to depending on. That’s a very exciting thing.”
The process may be exciting for the coaching staff, but it can be concerning for Giants fans who have no clue what to expect when the season begins next week.
Veteran left-hander Tony Watson is the most recognizable face in the bullpen and the longest-tenured reliever on staff. Watson has been dealing with shoulder tightness. Kapler said the medical staff recommended a “slow ramp up” for the regular season for the veteran left-hander, but he has yet to pitch in an intrasquad game.
Kapler was encouraged by the way Watson threw in a live batting practice session and expressed confidence in him being available on Opening Day, so there may not be as much to worry about with him as there was when he fell behind in spring training.
“I think Watson is on track and every day he throws in a more intense situation, we gain more and more confidence,” Kapler said.
Right-hander Trevor Gott’s 50 appearances last season lead all returnees projected to make the Opening Day roster (Reyes Moronta will begin the year on the injured list), so he’s more of a sure bet to appear in high-leverage innings than others in camp.
A third pitcher consistently mentioned by Kapler as a late-inning option is submariner Tyler Rogers, whose experience closing games for Triple-A Sacramento and unique arm angle make him a good candidate to pitch in high-pressure spots.
Rogers might even be the front-runner to lead the Giants staff in saves, but Kapler has mentioned how tempting it is to use him for more than an inning at a time, particularly when an opponent has several righthanded hitters in a row due up.
Rogers knows he’s been mentioned in the closer discussion, but he’s also not too concerned with pitching in a specific role.
“I guess that’s up to Gabe and Farhan, with this year being a 60-game season, maybe traditional pitching roles are going to be thrown out the window with it being a 60-game sprint,” Rogerssaid.
Outside of determining who will pitch when, one of the Giants’ primary challenges is deciding which pitchers will depart Oracle Park and head to Dodger Stadium with the club next week. In all likelihood, the club will keep at least 14 and potentially up to 16 pitchers on its Opening Day roster, but it appears at least five or six and possibly as many as eight roster spots are still up for grabs.
Left-hander Jarlín García seemed like a strong bet to make the original team during spring training, but he’s on the 10-day injured list due to “medical reasons” and there’s no timetable for his return.
Another southpaw, Wandy Peralta, is one of the most experienced relievers on the club, but Peralta has struggled with consistency over the last year and likely needs to have a strong week to solidify his standing.
Logan Webb appears to have an inside track to earning a roster spot, but the Giants haven’t given any indication about who could be in line to pitch in “bulk inning” roles. Pitchers who can throw multiple innings at a time including Tyler Anderson, Shaun Anderson, Dereck Rodríguez and Andrew Suárez have been “up and down” at times and less dependable than nonroster options such as Andrew Triggs and Rico Garcia, who both have starting experience.
The Giants also have a few other right-handers in Sam Coonrod and Rule 5 draft choice Dany Jimenez who could be candidates to earn set-up roles, but they’ll face competition from lefthanders such as Conner Menez, Sam Selman and even recent player pool addition Caleb Baragar as Zaidi and Kapler weigh their middle relief choices.
Regardless of whether a pitcher opens the year on the roster or ends the season with the club, the Giants expect they’ll need a huge group of arms to successfully navigate an unusual year.