Farhan Zaidi: SF Giants unlikely to add starting pitching depth this offseason
The SF Giants starting pitching depth was tested throughout the 2023 season. Offseason acquisitions Sean Manaea and Ross Stripling both struggled through disappointing campaigns, Anthony DeSclafani suffered a season-ending injury before the end of July, and Alex Wood dealt with multiple stints on the injured list. However, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters during his final press conference of the season on Tuesday that he does not envision adding starting pitching depth this offseason.
"I don't imagine us looking to add starting pitching depth," Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters on Tuesday. "It's a little bit like what we talked about at the trade deadline, where we were looking for top-of-the-rotation help, and if that wasn't available, we felt like we had answers internally that were maybe similar to what was out there. I would imagine the same approach in free agency."
The Giants did have success building a rotation around Logan Webb and Alex Cobb through a combination of bullpen games and the emergence of several young pitching prospects, like Kyle Harrison (Giants Top Pitching Prospect), Keaton Winn, and Tristan Beck. While San Francisco collapsed late in the season, a slide by the team's position players on offense and defense played a far larger role. In fact, the pitching staff kept the Giants in contention far after the lineup's production began to dip.
"When we look at what we have, between Logan Webb, Alex Cobb, the young guys who pitched the last three games of the season for us, we're going to have Anthony DeSclafani coming back, and we'll see what happens with Stripling and Manaea, I just think we have a good amount of that depth," Zaidi continued.
Webb, Cobb, and DeSclafani are all slated to be back with the team in 2024 and both Stripling and Manaea seem like candidates to return, since they both have to decline exercising player opt-outs in their contracts. Even if Stripling and Manaea do depart in free agency, though, the team would still have six players who were effective starters at points in 2023. Moreover, Zaidi added that he thinks the next group of prospects in the organization in position to make their big-league debuts next season.
"In terms of the next wave, a lot of it is on the pitching side, which kind of goes back to the question I was asked about pitching depth," he said. "Mason Black, Carson Whisenhunt, Hayden Birdsong, Landen Roupp. I think we have a really good group of starting pitchers that we're going to see next year."
All that upper minors pitching depth may come in handy this offseason in another way as well. A previous report suggested that Zaidi and the front office are prepared to shop some of their young pitching depth to upgrade other parts of the roster. With many clear needs on the position-player side of the equation, it sure seems like the Giants will try to consolidate.
That said, Zaidi did not say the SF Giants would ignore the starting pitching market. "Anytime you have a chance to add top of the rotation options, we'll look at it, but for guys that are more back of the rotation options, we just don't view that as a need."
