The Reporter (Vacaville)

‘SF never made me an offer’

Gausman speaks about Giants’ involvemen­t in his free agency

- By Kerry Crowley

Throughout his two-year tenure in San Francisco, Kevin Gausman credited the Giants for helping transform his career and instilling confidence in his ability to pitch at an All-Star caliber level.

Gausman appeared interested in extending his relationsh­ip with the team beyond a memorable 2021 season, but the veteran starter took to Twitter on Sunday and indicated the Giants’ front office didn’t share the same sentiment.

“I want to set the record straight for y’all (because) there has been a lot of BS out there about this,” Gausman tweeted. “SF never made me an offer. Simple as that. Anyone or anything that says otherwise is #FakeNews.”

The Giants have re-signed two key members of their rotation, Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood, this offseason, but Gausman, 30, officially agreed to terms on a five-year, $110 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Dec. 1.

Given Farhan Zaidi’s track record as an executive, it was hardly a surprise the Giants were unwilling to match the Blue Jays’ offer as San Francisco’s president of baseball operations has never given out a nine-figure contract in free agency. The element of Gausman’s free agency that does raise eyebrows is the notion the Giants never gave the right-hander an offer to consider.

While Zaidi has been reluctant to sign free agents to long-term contracts, the Giants could have made Gausman an offer to return to San Francisco on a deal that would have paid him a higher average annual value than the $22 million he’ll earn in Toronto.

A contract in the three-to-four year range that paid Gausman upward of $25 million annually may have been enough to entice the starter to consider a return

to a Giants franchise that has helped him unlock his potential, but according to Gausman, he didn’t have an offer to mull.

Gausman was named to his first All-Star team in 2021 as he was among the best pitchers in the majors during the first half

of the season. Despite regressing in July, August and September, Gausman remained one of San Francisco’s most trusted starters and he finished a career-best sixth in National League Cy Young Award voting.

Over two years in San Francisco, Gausman recorded a 3.00 ERA in 251 2/3 innings while striking out 10.9 batters per nine innings. Prior to signing

a one-year deal with the Giants in December, 2019, Gausman had been exactly league average according to ERA+ over the first seven seasons of his career as the righty owned a 4.30 ERA over 925 2/3 innings.

With Gausman now pitching for the Blue Jays, Rocklin native Logan Webb is expected to be the Giants’ ace as the 25-yearold blossomed into one of the league’s most consistent

starters during the second half of the 2021 season.

Webb will anchor a staff that also features DeSclafani, Wood and free-agent signee Alex Cobb, but it’s clear the Giants will need to continue pursuing starting pitching help when MLB owners and the Players Associatio­n reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.

 ?? JANE TYSKA — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP FILE ?? Former San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Kevin Gausman walks off the field during a NLDS game last season against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
JANE TYSKA — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP FILE Former San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Kevin Gausman walks off the field during a NLDS game last season against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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