A lot has been made of the Giants bullpen this season. It was visibly the achilles heal of the team in the first half, and after Saturday’s loss, where Santiago Casilla balked in the winning run, the Giants are looking at possible trades to bolster the bullpen.
Earlier this morning, Jerry Crasnick tweeted out some options the Giants are exploring.
#SFGiants also scouting #Brewers Will Smith and Jeremy Jeffress. Lingering on Miller-Chapman, but might be outgunned by #Cubs, #Nationals.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 20, 2016
#SFGiants are blanketing the reliever market. They have a top scout at #Phillies series monitoring Jeanmar Gomez and David Hernandez.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 20, 2016
On Monday, we wrote about how it’s unlikely the Giants will land Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman due to the high asking price the Yankees are demanding, but there is a good chance at least one of the other names Crasnick mentioned are wearing the orange and black later this season. Here’s more about them.
The current Milwaukee Brewer is an interesting option for the Giants and can provide late inning stability. Smith, a lefty, has pitched just 17.0 innings this season after missing the first couple months with a bizarre knee injury. However, those 17.0 innings have been impressive with an ERA of 2.12. Smith could be a similar reliever to Jeremy Affeldt with the ability to retire both left and right-handed bats. Also, since Smith isn’t a closer, it’s hard to imagine the Giants would have to give up a ton to land the lefty.
Again, in Milwaukee, the Brewers’ closer is another solid arm for the Giants. Jeffress, a hard throwing right-hander, has 23 saves this season in 24 tries and has just walked 10 batters in 39.1 innings pitched. While he has looked impressive to this point, he has struggled to retire lefties, who are hitting .338 against him. Jeffress would be a good fit for the Giants, especially if Casilla, who already has five blown saves on the year, continues to struggle in the ninth. If not used as a closer, Jeffress can provide a strong arm in the eighth inning, which has been an area of difficulty this season in San Francisco.
The Phillies’ closer is another option the Giants will look into. He is similar to Jeffress with 25 saves, has kept his walk total low this season (11) and has given up 14 runs in 44.2 innings. This is Gomez’s first season in the closer role and he has be a pleasant surprise for Philadelphia. The 28-year-old’s current 2.82 ERA would be a career-high.
Hernandez is a Bay Area native and is familiar with the NL West competition, pitching for the Diamondbacks from 2011-15. He is listed third in the Phillies bullpen depth chart and has put together impressive strikeout numbers, ranking 11th amongst relievers in the MLB with 56 on the season. Hernandez is a hard thrower, but missed the entire 2014 season undergoing Tommy John surgery, which could be a red flag for some organizations. Hernandez has 20 career saves, which makes him an option for spot saves if the main closer is unavailable for a game.