San Francisco Giants front office, -2.1
The Zaidi-Harris personnel decisions since the end of the 2021 season have focused on pitchers, and especially veteran pitchers. There have been notable successes and failures.
Overall the Giants have made 37 such moves, and while the negatives (21) far outnumber the positives (11), the value of the positives nearly balance out the more abundant negatives. All five of the Giants’ biggest moves involved arms. Here are the details.
March 14: One of the Giants’ first moves when the lockout ended was to pluck Carlos Rodon off the free agent list. Thus far, anyway, that decision has been a ten-strike. In 16 starts, Rodon has a 7-5 record, a 2.87 ERA, and he has yielded a +2.0 WAA to his new team. That’s genuine value.
March 14: Rodon has been the most impactful addition to the Giants’ rotation, but not the only significant one. When the lockout ended, the Giants signed former Royals starter Jakob Junis to a bargain one-year, $1.75 million contract. His up-and-down first half has included two trips to Triple A Sacramento and one stint on the injury list. But when healthy Junis has produced a 4-1 record and 2.63 ERA in seven starts, good for a +1.5 WAA. He’s now doing rehab work, so his return could be close.
Oct. 15: The release of pitcher Jose Quintana was no surprise. Winless in five appearances since being acquired down the stretch from the Angels, Quintana hadn’t been a front-line regular in three years. But signed by Pittsburgh, Quintana has found something. His 3.33 ERA in 16 starts for the Pirates translates to +1.2 WAA. The Giants could have used that.
Aug. 13: Like Jose Quintana, Aaron Sanchez was a past-his-time starter whose release late in 2021 made perfect sense. Unlike Quintana, Sanchez hasn’t found a second wind. Signed by the Nationals in March, he produced an 8.33 ERA in seven starts and -1.1 WAA. By mid-May, even the last-place Nats had had enough; they released Sanchez.
Nov. 5: Johnny Cueto was also released following a decent 2021 comeback season with a 7-7 record and 4.08 ERA. Signed by the White Sox for 2022, Cueto started the season at Triple-A Charlotte, tasked with proving he still had value. He proved it, was called up in May, and has a 3.30 ERA in nine starts with a +1.0 WAA. The Giants could have used Cueto’s performance.