SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — As if the results hadn’t already spoken for themselves, the work of pitching coach Andrew Bailey, director of pitching Brian Bannister and their staff was affirmed with a few words spoken by newly signed pitcher Jakob Junis.
“I wanted to go to a team that was definitely on the cutting edge of things pitching-wise,” Junis said. “And this is definitely a team that’s on that path.”
Junis is one of five arms the Giants have added since last season, and almost all have echoed his sentiment. They watched Kevin Gausman turn a two-year deal into $110 million. Drew Smyly hadn’t thrown a pitch in the major leagues since 2016 when he signed with Texas in 2019. After seven appearances in San Francisco, the Atlanta Braves gave him $11 million last season.
San Francisco has become a destination for reclamation-project pitchers. The island of misfit toys would be an apt metaphor, if only they turned those rejects from Santa’s workshop back into prime presents.
Numerous other arms have resurrected their careers the past two seasons in San Francisco, including two current rotation members. Alex Wood joined the Giants last year and produced his best season since his first stint with the Dodgers. Anthony DeSclafani signed the longest contract Farhan Zaidi has ever awarded to a pitcher this offseason after arriving in San Francisco last year unable to rediscover his top-of-the-rotation form since he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow in 2016.
“They’re very good with pitchers here,” noted Carlos Rodón, the fragile left-hander the Giants believe can become their next star pupil after inking a two-year, $44 million deal (with an opt out to cash in after one year if he reaches 110 innings).
“You saw the year Gausman had. … A lot of high expectations and kind of underperformed (early in his career), and he got to the right place (in San Francisco),” Rodón said. “I noticed it.”
How do they do it? There’s no tried and true formula, but the principles stay the same: data – lots of it — and communication. The Giants employ not one, not two, but three pitching coaches on their major-league staff — Bailey, Bannister and assistant J.P. Martinez — and invested millions this offseason in a biomechanics lab located inside their minor-league facility down here, providing a formal home to the technology the Giants have honed under Zaidi’s regime.
Motion capture produces millions of data points for every pitcher, from every step of their delivery to the shape of their pitches.
For DeSclafani, that meant relying on his wipeout slider at the highest rate of his career — 35.7% of his pitches, according to Statcast data — and working with the pitching staff to refine its movement. That data can be even be relayed as rapidly as the same game.
“If you give them full reign to give you (feedback) whenever something’s off in-game, they’ll do it, like, within that next inning,” DeSclafani said. “I came in here last year and kind of just gave myself up in a sense like, hey, let me know what you’ve got. I’m all ears. … The fact that there’s always multiple sets of eyes on you at all times I think is super beneficial.”
Rodón, like Gausman, had a repertoire worthy of a first-round selection out of college and rose quickly through the minor leagues but struggled to gain traction at the top of a major league rotation. Finally, under the guidance of Bailey disciple Ethan Katz last season, he put together a Cy Young-worthy campaign, but his shoulder gave in to fatigue by the end of the year after throwing triple the innings he had accumulated over the previous two seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Like DeSclafani in 2021, who only made seven starts the year prior, the Giants will carefully manage Rodón’s workload. But that doesn’t come in the form of a strict innings limit set by the top decision makers. It starts at the beginning of spring training, meeting with each player and setting goals for the season and a plan to achieve them. In other words: communication.
“One part of our process that I do want us to repeat is listening to the pitcher,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “We want to stay away from anything that’s self congratulatory, however I do feel like we have a coaching staff, a pitching department, that does a fine job of helping a guy like Carlos. … We’re not resting on or trying to repeat exactly the same process with those pitchers, but feel a lot of confidence that we can help Carlos be good.”
Meet the hopefuls
Matthew Boyd, LHP
Age: 31
Last team: Detroit
Acquired: 1-year, $5.2M free-agent contract (with $2.3M in incentives)
Giants’ most recent pitching acquisition, reportedly agreeing to his contract Thursday. Will start the season on 60-day injured list and won’t be ready until June after undergoing surgery to repair his flexor tendon in October. Before being shut down last June, was off to his best MLB season, with a 3.44 ERA in 13 starts.
Alex Cobb, RHP
Age: 34
Last team: Los Angeles Angels
Acquired: 2 year, $20 million free agent contract
If there is one pitcher the Giants acquired this offseason who they will be perfectly content replicating his previous results, it’s Cobb. He posted a 3.76 ERA in 18 starts last season but hasn’t thrown 100 innings since 2018. There are signs there could be something more there: Cobb went 35-23 with a 3.21 ERA over his first four MLB seasons in Tampa.
Jakob Junis, RHP
Age: 29
Last team: Kansas City
Acquired: 1-year, $1.75M free agent contract
Went 18-15 with a 4.35 ERA in his first two MLB seasons but hasn’t matched those numbers in three years since. Posted career-best 3.41 xFIP, or expected fielding independent pitching an advanced stat similar to ERA that stood out to Kapler.
Carlos Martinez, RHP
Age: 31
Last team: St. Louis
Acquired: MiLB contract worth $2.5M if he makes MLB roster (with $1.5M in incentives)
Two-time All-Star with the Cardinals as a starter before moving to a bullpen role, where he also thrived. But between shoulder issues and a torn ligament in his thumb, started only 21 games the past two seasons with a 6.95 ERA.
Carlos Rodón, LHP
Age: 29
Last team: Chicago White Sox
Acquired: 2-year, $44 million free-agent contract
A power pitcher with a dominant fastball who was inconsistent to start his career but discovered himself last season, earning his first All-Star nod and finishing fifth in AL Cy Young voting. However, has thrown 100 innings only twice in past five seasons.
