Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani signs with Giants

Two days after the 2020 regular season ended, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi announced that fortifying the team’s starting rotation would be the front office’s top priority this offseason.

Zaidi is making progress, nearly three months after the Giants last played. The Giants’ search for pitching help continued Wednesday with the addition of righthander Anthony DeSclafani, who signed a oneyear, $6 million deal with the club.

“He was really enthusiastic about the opportunity to become a Giant and we certainly are looking for players in free agency that are looking to join what we’re trying to build here,” Zaidi said on a video conference with reporters.

DeSclafani’s acquisition won’t bring an end to the Giants’ offseason quest to build a rotation that lacked depth this season, but it does provide the team with a veteran starter who boasts an intriguing track record over a six-year major league career.

The 30-year-old New Jersey native debuted with the Marlins in 2014, but spent the last five seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. The Giants were willing to overlook DeSclafani’s 7.22 ERA in 2020 — as the righty was hampered by a back injury at the beginning of the year — in hopes he’ll regain the form he showed during an above-average 2019 season when he threw 166 2/3 innings, struck out 167 batters and posted a 3.89 ERA.

There’s also a belief among the Giants that DeSclafani will benefit from leaving the hitterfriendly confines of Great American Ballpark, where his career 4.62 ERA is a full point higher than the 3.61 mark he’s enjoyed on the road.

“I don’t think a lot of this is rocket science,” Zaidi said. “He’s a guy with pedigree, a sixth-round pick out of college, was a really well- regarded prospect. Has had a couple of injuries, but also had a couple of really nice seasons with the Reds. That’s a known tough ballpark, especially with right-handed pitchers with the ballpark dimensions and how the ball flies there, especially with a flyball pitcher like Anthony.”

At the outset of the offseason, Zaidi indicated the free agent market would be filled with pitchers who could benefit from the tweaks and adjustments an innovative Giants coaching staff would suggest to help them reach their full potential. The Giants front office says the industry has taken notice of how Drew Pomeranz, Drew Smyly and top returnee Kevin Gausman transformed their careers in San Francisco and feel others, such as DeSclafani, could improve their performances.

It appears the key for the former Reds pitcher in 2021 will be finding a way to ensure his slider and curveball are both effective pitches. DeSclafani threw his slider on more than 30% of his pitches last season, which outpaced his fastball, and his career numbers indicate his slider can be the most difficult pitch for opponents to hit.

DeSclafani’s curveball has also shown promise, particularly in 2019 when he generated whiffs on 38% of his curves. But he’s rarely paired it effectively with his primary breaking ball.

The pitch mix DeSclafani brings to San Francisco is far different from what Gausman and the team’s other top returning veteran, Johnny Cueto, rely on for success. The Giants’ newest acquisition needs his breaking pitches to record outs while Gausman uses a high- 90s fastball and splitter combination to stymie hitters. Cueto, the highest-paid member of the rotation, rarely tops 90 mph with his fastball, but can be effective when his best secondary offering, his changeup, plays off of the four-seamer.

DeSclafani will likely to pitch behind Gausman and Cueto in the Giants’ 2020 rotation. Other candidates for jobs include Logan Webb, who battled command issues during a tough rookie year, and Tyler Beede, who is returning from Tommy John surgery.

“Logan Webb has a lot of development left to occur, but he’s a good candidate to be in our rotation,” manager Gabe Kapler said Tuesday. “I think everybody knows Tyler Beede will be coming back for us and we expect him to be at least off the mound when spring training begins.”

Starting pitching prospects Sean Hjelle and Tristan Beck could enter the rotation equation later on in the year.