Former Giants closer Santiago Casilla watched last night as five separate San Francisco relievers tried and failed to stop the Cubs in the 9th. Instead, a three-run lead turned into a one-run deficit. As Carl Steward of the Mercury News reports, the 36-year-old righty was moved to tears by the loss — and the fact that he wasn’t able to help in the attempt to prevent it.
Though he lost his closer’s role after logging 31 saves this season, Casilla was stung by the fact he wasn’t considered at any point in the decisive fourth game of the NLDS, Steward says. As Casilla heads to the open market this winter, it seems likelier than ever that his seven-year run with the Giants will come to an end. “I’m a free agent, so I don’t know,” Casilla said of his future. “I’m just going to wait and see what happens.”
Casilla did make it onto the NLDS roster after a tough end to the year, but made just one appearance in the series. In his 7 2/3 frames from the start of September, he allowed five earned runs with just five strikeouts against three walks. Though he only permitted six hits, two were homers. Of course, he had been solid — albeit hardly dominant — for much of the season, ending with a 3.57 ERA with 10.1 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 over 58 total innings.
Despite his diminished role, Casilla said that he felt confident he could have gotten the job done when the Giants most needed a shut-down inning. “I’m a pitcher. I’m part of the bullpen,” he said. “I know I have had some bad moments in September and during the season, but I have good numbers in the playoffs and I know I can pitch in that situation. I know I can pitch in the big leagues.”
Indeed, Casilla does possess a rather distinguished postseason track record. In 19 2/3 frames, all with the Giants, he allowed just two earned runs on 15 hits while striking out twenty and permitting only five free passes.
It seems, though, that Casilla had already been buried on the depth chart. A parade of his pen mates — Derek Law, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo, Will Smith, and Hunter Strickland — was called upon while Casilla sat in the dugout. Regardless of one’s views on the decisionmaking process of oft-lauded skipper Bruce Bochy — certainly, the post-loss questioning is inevitable given the result — the Giants seem to be headed in a different direction with the back of their pen.
Whether or not San Francisco will pursue Casilla in the offseason, and whether he’d be amenable to a return at this point, remain to be seen. But he figures to receive a good bit of interest on the market. Casilla’s late-inning track record certainly doesn’t hurt his case, even if he stumbled at times this year, but teams will mostly focus on the fact that he’s thrown at least fifty innings annually since joining the Giants in 2010, with a cumulative 2.42 ERA. In fact, 2016 was the first time he provided the organization with an earned run average of greater than three per nine.
That win felt so good.
I’m thinking the Giants wish they were in on melancon more at the trade deadline.
They probably wish they had gotten more in the miller discussion
The miller and chapman discussion didn’t happen on the Yankees side from what I read. If I remember right they cut it off quick with after the giants didn’t want to give up panik
The giants definitely should have tried to get melancon
They did try to get melancon. And miller. And chapman. But their farm system didn’t have enough oomph to get those guys. You can’t throw money at a problem in the middle of the season. Prospects are the currency and giants system didn’t have enough to get anything done at the time. And as a dodger fan I enjoyed the second half of the season. Immensely.
Bruce totally underused/mis-used Will Smith both down the stretch and in the playoffs. And Casilla has always been money in the playoffs, odd to lose with a guy like that just sitting on the pine. Giants need to invest in one of Melancon/Chapman/Jansen and maybe an incentive laden deal with Holland.
Jansen would be the best since it would force LA to try to acquire elsewhere. Holland would be great. It is going to be so different watching them though, for such a long time the pen has been those 4 guys (minus affeldt the last couple of seasons) and looking at none of them in the late innings will be tough as a giants fan.
I think you are correct about this. The Giants gave up quite a bit for the guy and it sure didn’t seem that Bochy ever gave him an honest shot as a closer. He had performed well in that role in Milwaukee. Given the obvious difficulties the Giant pen experienced, it really mystified me all September why the guy never really saw the 9th inning, despite some impressive outings. As a Dodger fan I certainly am glad Bochy never figured it out.
casilla has always been a great set up guy but he is nerve racking at best as a closer – I feel bad for him because he was really set up to fail in that role. I understand the need for smith due to the ineffectiveness of the left handed pitching in the pen but if the giants had any closer (hell even papelbon who was on the market would have been better) that would allow casilla to be a more comfortable set up man I think the second half and the playoffs would be a totally different thing.
Agree. Watching Casilla close, whenever did the seasons he did was like watching edward mujica attempt it. they both did, but was it painful.
Contact pitchers rely on superb defense and that doesn’t always save them, why hard throwers dominate the field. days of Eckersley, Sutter and Fingers type are long gone.
I can hear Casilla’s agent screaming for him to STFU from my desk at work lol
Probably not the best time to air out your soon-to-be former team, right when you are about to go on the FA market. Could be wrong though!
Sure seems he was speaking from sadness rather than anger. I can’t imagine these comments will really change what Evans and co are thinking — or other FOs.
It’s it weird how all the closers watched there teams lose
not Familia!
So glad to be rid of him! I’m sure some of his teammates will miss him, but we fans sure won’t.
How about the Other 5 that screwed the pooch last night?
Casilla was just part of the problem, the other guys in the pen were far from solid. Of those five, Lopez is gone for sure and Romo will probably not be retained. This team’s bullpen needs a significant overhaul, but guys like Law, Smith, and Strickland should return next year and be reasonably productive over a full season.
Romo was one of SF’s best RP last year. The BP is SF’s problem so they shouldn’t let Romo walk since he won’t command a hefty contract.
Giants bullpen assembly was a Perfect Storm scenario. It takes three quality starters and three shut down arms in the bullpen to win series. You are only as good as the last guy holding the baseball. It is tough for a organization and a fan base to watch your team have a lead for 2.5 hours and lose a game in the last 15 minutes. Giants refused to gamble at the trade deadline and it came back to haunt them. At least they didn’t sell their future for a shot in the dark.
Maybe, but it has to be said that the Giants were fortunate to even be in the playoffs, and they were an 87-win second-seed wildcard team playing a 103-game runaway division winner. Their bullpen issues were well advertised. The bigger surprise of the evening might have been the journeyman Matt Moore looking more like an ace for 8.0 against a solid lineup.
Journeyman? He’s pitched for exactly two teams, and has been a really good major league pitcher for most of his career, albeit one slowed by injuries.
You might have a point about luck and their 87 win season, but davidcoonce74 is right. Moore was coveted by other teams and the Giants had to trade a value piece in Matt Duffy along with a couple prospects, one being Lucius Fox, to land him. He is most definitely not a journeyman, and his performance last night was definitely not a surprise by those that follow baseball.
What they gave up for Moore was based as much on the thin market for starters and his modest contract as any performance factor, none of which are outstanding. An ERA and FIP of around 4.00 is nothing to write home about. He has the kind of numbers that get a starter reliable work but in the middle to back end of the rotation. Yes I do follow baseball, and that’s a working definition of a journeyman, not an ace you can reasonably expect to dominate one of the game’s best lineups for eight innings.
No. The definition of being a journeyman is that a player is well-travelled. Has played for a lot of teams. Edwin Jackson is a journeyman. Moore is a 27 year-old pitcher who spent his whole career with one team until this season. He won CYA votes with that team, and has had plenty of flashes of brilliance between injuries. He was outstanding down the stretch for SF, for example. His career numbers might make him out to be a league-average starter, but within the game he isn’t viewed that way.
I disagree on the refusing to gamble – the reason that the giants overpaid for will smith rather than getting miller or chapman or melancon is that the farm system is rated terribly due to the lack of big name prospects and people rarely look to trade with the giants- even though the development system is great which is why there are so many homegrown guys that produce. The giants have been losing out on both trades and signings every year whether it is the park, the tax rate, the weather,,, the list goes on and on – it makes you appreciate a lot more what they can do with what they get their hands on but it is doubtful that they could have done a whole lot more than they did given the situation. I will say that one missed opportunity could have been liriano as he got handed over essentially for a salary dump that the giants could have totally taken on- he would have been a great #5 starter that would have taken the suarez starts and could have served as a starter in game 2 that would allow samardzija to work strictly out of the pen for the series.
I really like Bruce Bochy as a manager, but the lefty-righty thing drives me crazy. With a 3 run lead, I really feel only Casilla or Smith should have been given the ball, and left alone. Pitching four different guys one batter each is much riskier than hoping one good pitcher can get 3 outs before giving up 3 runs. Smith probably was the guy for that spot. Strickland should never see the ball in the 9th inning. And Romo is no closer.
it is true that he had little to work with but he really should have dropped smith in let him go, he has the best splits for right/left and with a lefty and a switch hitter coming up you might as well let him pitch to bryant with a 3 run lead, then he faces a lefty and the switch hitter who no one is necessarily good for. if at the end of that you got 2 guys on you can go to plan B- but that is just me…….
As a Cub fan, I’m glad Moore wasn’t left in for the ninth. If so, we’d be watching game 5 tomorrow.
Casilla and Zach Britton can now commiserate about not getting into each respective team’s elimination game.
As a Giants fan last night was a miserable experience and frustrating as hell. On a positive side it now gives SF the mandate to blow up the pen. Something I love about SF is that they are loyal to their players. Something that frustrates me is that they are way too loyal to players. I think what that loyalty from management does is create good chemistry which is probably the reason they have won without being the best team on paper.
We can second guess Bochy and I would have made different decisions but Bochy has stats and matchup data in front of him that none of us are quoting because we don’t know it. He also has bullpen coaches telling him how someone looks. Posey telling him if someone is hitting their spots and how late the movement is. Stuff we can’t begin to comprehend. The bottom line is we got beat by a better team and were lucky we took it to 4 games, almost 5.
Giants need to go in a new direction.
Go get Britton from the Orioles or Wade Davis from KC as the closer AND solidify the bullpen. (Let Peavy, Lopez, Casilla go) Pick up Cespedes for LF AND Strengthen the bench (Let Blanco and Adrianza go).
I don’t know that adrianza will be a FA, everyone else and pagan will most likely be gone. I was hearing today that the total off the books this year is 50mm+, after arbitration eligible players it is still about 25mm+ available. Add to that 18mm that comes off for Cain come 2018 and there is a lot of wiggle room on the books
It shouldn’t really matter who is or isn’t coming off the books. The Giants are the most profitable team in MLB, with the 3rd highest revenue and have the ability to afford any player.
Casilla left his heart in San Francisco
The game was blown on Tuesday by Bochy and his lack of faith in sticking with a single member of his pen. Instead of playing not to lose, he should have been playing to win. The game was blown by GM Evans all the way back at the trade deadline. He knew then, he had no front line closer and he failed miserably in not obtaining one. Instead:: he overpaid for Nunez by trading away a soon to be mlb lefty for a for a guy in a career year, he overpaid for Smith, by trading away two prospects with good trade value for a reliever who fit right into the Giant bullpen by floundering himself and he overpaid for Moore by trading away his starting 3B who emerged out of nowhere to fill the vacuum after Sandoval left and MacGee flopped. Congrats to you both,; now take until 2017 to reflect on how you screwed up while you watch the playoffs on TV.
Because it’s so easy to get a front line closer. So easy in fact every team has one and the two that were available at the deadline didn’t cost anything right?
The Moore trade was a solid trade. Moore is a former top prospect with a good track record when healthy and years of control left. He gives the Giants one of the best top 4 staffs in baseball. Giants fans love Duffy but in all reality he probably had a career year his rookie year. The Nunez trade wasn’t bad either. He can play all over the infield, has a little pop, and is a legit stolen base threat.
If they add a closer in FA and get a starting LF they are a top 5 team.
Casilla was worth a chance. He’s a better pitcher than all of those other 5 guys. I would’ve given him the 9th to start on a short reign, get an out & stay in the game, concede a hit or a walk then go to Romo…..You had runs to play with, and that’s why it was worth the gamble, and the word gamble is used appropriately because that’s what you were you doing with that bullpen. Furthermore, I may even have let Moore start the 9th, he had 120 pitches, his season high was 133.
Mike trout