© Kelley L Cox | 2020 Sep 24
The Giants took fliers on two starting pitchers last offseason and both worked out.
Drew Smyly and Kevin Gausman were arguably the club’s best starting pitchers (when healthy) in 2020. The Giants paid a grand total of $15 million for the services of both combined in 2020, but their stocks have certainly risen over the past 60 games.
So, will San Francisco be able to bring both back in 2021? Giants beat writer Kerry Crowley believes there is a good chance.
“I think it’s a pretty good likelihood,” Crowley told Mark Willard on Monday evening. “I’d probably say 50/50 on either guy. I think that they really enjoyed their time in San Francisco. You look at their numbers and these are career years for them. Drew Smyly completely reestablished himself as a major league pitcher in 30 innings, not unlike what Drew Pomeranz did when he was moved to the bullpen last summer.”
Smyly, 31, appeared in just seven games due to injury but posted his best ERA since 2016 (3.42) and his best WHIP since 2013 (1.10).
“Kevin Gausman had the highest strikeout rate of his career, one of the lower ERAs of his career, pitched like the first-round draft pick the Orioles thought he was way back when, and he’s someone who looks like he can be an anchor moving forward. Maybe with a 60-game season teams are not sure how to judge these sample sizes, so the Giants might be able to bring them back cheaper than expected. I don’t know that it would be a one-year deal for either player but I think two is realistic.”
Listen to the full interview below.