By Jordan Long
The San Francisco Giants ended the 2021 regular season at 107-55, winning the National League West Division by 1 game over the L.A. Dodgers. Unfortunately, that success didn’t carry over into the postseason. The Giants lost to the Dodgers in the National League Division Series 3 games to 2. The Giants are looking to improve to earn another postseason spot in 2022 and advance further. They agreed to a 3-year contract to keep starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani.
The Giants’ pitching carried them all year. They ended with an ERA of 3.24. Manager Gabe Kapler trusted his starters. They could easily pitch into the 6th or 7th innings. The starters had an ERA of 3.44. In the postseason, even though it lasted one round, the ERA for the starters was 2.39. The Giants wanted to make sure they kept DeSclafani. He was key to their success.
This was DeSclafani’s only season in the Bay Area. DeSclafani had a career year for the Giants. He had his best record at 13-7. The 13 wins are his most in a single season. DeSclafani’s ERA was 3.17. His only issue was walks, giving up 42, but those didn’t seem to hurt him in the end.
DeSclafani wanted to stay with the Giants. This is a team that is primed for another postseason appearance. He was a free agent and could have turned down the Giants for another team who could be in a better position to win the World Series. Instead, he agreed to a 3-year, $36 million contract, paying him $12 million a year.
According to ESPN.com, Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi said, “Obviously, he had a really nice year for us. Beyond his individual stats, we were 21-10 in games that he started, so the team had a lot of success when he took the ball, which is of the ultimate importance.”
DeSclafani was key to the success of the Giants. They wanted to make sure he didn’t go anywhere. He might be their best pitcher behind Logan Webb. Now they are looking to add to the rotation.
With the lockout looming on December 2nd that will freeze free agency, the Giants wanted to move quickly with DeSclafani. They did so. Now they would like to add another pitcher, Alex Cobb. Cobb would add depth to the rotation. Last year, he was 8-3 for the Los Angeles Angels. San Francisco will have to move quickly. The Giants though with just keeping DeSclafani are still going to be the top team to beat in the National League West Division. They would like to improve the teams’ chances of making the World Series in 2022. The Giants haven’t won the World Series since 2014.
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