Giants pitcher Gausman to stay.
W hen Kev in Gausman’s f irst season with the San Francisco Giants was winding down, the starting pitcher indicated he had unfinished business.
Gausman said one of the primary reasons he signed with the franchise was to throw to catcher and six-time All- Star Buster Posey. Now he’ll have his chance.
Gausman accepted a qualifying offer from the Giants on Wednesday which will keep him in San Francisco on a one-year deal worth $18.9 million.
The right-hander’s 2021 salary is more than double the $9 million he signed for last offseason and will make him the second-highest paid pitcher on the staff behind veteran Johnny Cueto, who will make nearly $22 million in the final season of his contract.
Gausman’s decision to accept the Giants’ qualifying offer will keep him in San Francisco through next season, but the two sides will also have an opportunity to work out a multi-year contract if there’s mutual
interest.
Posey worked closely with Gausman during spring training, but after the coronavirus pandemic put spor t s on pause, the Giants’ longtime starting catcher announced in July that he was sitting out the 2020 season after he and his w ife K risten adopted twin girls. The Giants are eagerly awaiting Posey’s return in 2021 and expect him to provide a stable presence for the team’s pitchers and an apt tutor for top prospect Joey Bart, who debuted this season.
The Giants extended Gausman a qualif ying offer, which is a oneyear contract worth the mean salary of the 125 highest- paid players in baseball on Nov. 1. Gausman had 10 days to accept or reject the offer and was permitted to negotiate with other teams, but he ultimately made the decision to return to San Francisco for a second season with the club.
With a fastball that tops out around 99 miles per hour and a splitter that ranks as one of the best of f- speed pitches of any Giants pitcher, Gausman is expected to be an anchor for the rotation next year and may be the front- runner to start on Opening Day.
His return leaves the Giants with one fewer question mark in their star ting rotation, but surrounding Gausman and Cueto with quality options will be a primar y focus for president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi this winter.
Giants starters posted a 4.99 ER A during a condensed 60- game season, which ranked 20th in the majors. Gausman led the staff with four quality starts and his 3.62 ER A was the thirdbest mark of his career.
Ha d G au sm a n rejected the Giants’ qualif ying offer, he would have remained a free agent while the franchise would have received a compensatory selection in the 2021 amateur draft. The Giants also extended qualifying offers to pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith last offseason, but both pitchers declined them and the team was assigned the 67th and 68th picks in this year’s draft, which it used on left-handed pitcher Nick Sw iney ( Nor th Ca ro - lina State) and infielder Jimmy Glowenke (Dallas Baptist).
With Gausman back in the fold, the Giants may turn their attention toward pursuing a reunion with left-hander Drew Smyly, who also enjoyed a strong season on a one- year contract with the club this year. A left index finger injury limited Smyly to 26 1/3 innings, but he struck out 42 batters and could be poised to cash in with a multi-year contract in free agency, even in a depressed market.
Regardless of whether the Giants sign Smyly, the front office is expected to work aggressively to find upgrades in its starting rotation and sign pitchers who can improve the outlook for a club that came within one win of securing a postseason berth this year.
Gausman is the second free agent to sign with the Giants in the last two days, joining left- handed hitting infielder Jason Vosler who agreed to a major league contract with San Francisco on Wednesday. The 27- year- old Vosler is a former Cubs and Padres prospect who has never appeared in a major league game, but could have a legitimate chance to make the Opening Day roster as a platoon option at third base behind right- handed hitting starter Evan Longoria.