The San Francisco Giants have long been known as one of the top pitching teams in baseball. But with the decline of Tim Lincecum and inconsistent performance of Matt Cain in recent years, that reputation has taken a hit. According to reports, however, Brian Sabean is looking to fix that this winter.
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CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports that the Giants are making a serious push for top free agent starter Zack Greinke. Greinke spent the past three seasons pitching with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, receiving Cy Young votes in all three seasons will going to two All-Star games, posting sub-3.00 ERAs three times and leading baseball in ERA in 2015 with a 1.66.
Greinke would join Madison Bumgarner to form arguably the most dominant one-two punch in baseball atop the Giants’ rotation. He previously paired with Clayton Kershaw atop the Dodgers’ starting five, and Los Angeles seems to pose the biggest threat to retain Greinke and keep him from San Francisco.
If the Giants do land the former Cy Young Award winner, they’ll hope the likely megadeal will go better than previous contracts they’ve handed to prized pitchers. Big contracts to Barry Zito, Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum have all not gone according to plan, though Greinke has a significantly longer and better track record than any of that trio.
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Regardless of whether Sabean and company manage to bring Greinke to San Francisco, their connection to him, David Price, Chris Davis, Alex Gordon and others indicate a willingness in the Giants organization to spend this winter. Even if the club doesn’t land one of the premier talents available on the open market this offseason, they could still be in play to attract multiple second-tier players to bolster their roster.