Veteran reliever Sergio Romo is zeroing in on an agreement with a yet-unreported club, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The 35-year-old was said a couple of weeks back to be drawing heightened interest, and it seems he’ll soon make a decision on his next club. Heyman notes that Romo is looking at a one-year deal, which quite likely indicates that he’ll be inking a Major League pact when all is said and done. That much could’ve been largely expected early in free agency, though with Spring Training looming, there do figure to be some surprising minor league deals agreed upon.
Romo helped to pioneer the “opener” role with the Rays last season, making five starts in that still-developing role. He had three successful outings and one ugly showing as an opener but turned in a 3.88 ERA with a 68-to-16 K/BB ratio in 62 2/3 innings as a more conventional reliever. Romo nailed down 25 saves for Tampa Bay and turned in a 13 percent swinging-strike ratio and a 33.1 percent chase rate. He’s never been a hard-thrower but never struggled to miss bats, making him a nice veteran addition on what should be a rather affordable deal.
A few more notes on some free agents who have had a fairly quiet offseason…
- Jeremy Hellickson and the Nationals are in talks about a potential reunion, tweets Craig Mish of SiriusXM. Hellickson, 32 in April, made 19 starts for Washington last season and was generally effective. In 91 1/3 innings, he averaged 6.4 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 with a career-best 45.9 percent grounder rate en route to a 3.45 ERA. Metrics like FIP (4.22), xFIP (4.27) and SIERA (4.33) all felt Hellickson benefited from a bit of good fortune but was still a useful big league arm. The Nats have one of the strongest rotations in MLB, with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez comprising the top four. Joe Ross is projected as the No. 5 and will have competition from former first-rounder Erick Fedde, but both righties still have a minor league option. A big league deal for Hellickson would likely put him into the rotation.
- The Giants and Athletics are among the teams with some level of interest in free-agent left-hander Gio Gonzalez, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. New Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi has waited out the market to find palatable one-year contracts with Derek Holland and Drew Pomeranz already, so perhaps there’s a hope that the same can be accomplished with regard to the 33-year-old Gonzalez. San Francisco currently projects to have Madison Bumgarner, Dereck Rodriguez, Holland and Pomeranz in the rotation, with the fifth spot likely going to either Jeff Samardzija or Andrew Suarez, depending on Samardzija’s health after an injury-ruined 2018 season. Ty Blach, Chris Stratton and Tyler Beede are among the other rotation candidates on the 40-man roster. Meanwhile, there’s a clearer path to rotation innings in Gonzalez’s old Oakland stomping grounds. It’s not the first time the A’s have been connected to Gonzalez this winter, but the interest is nonetheless notable, as the last link between the two sides came well before the Athletics’ signing of Marco Estrada.
I feel Stratton is constantly overlooked in these type of articles. I’d like to see him in the rotation. He has great stuff.
Completely agree. I think his ceiling is really high and he constantly gets overlooked. He strung together 8-9 starts starting from that breakout game where he tossed a shutout against the Nationals in 2017 all the way to the first few starts in April where he shutout the Padres where he looked like an ace. And then that start against the Dodgers he gave up 10 runs and he looked completely different. I think with good coaching this kid is a no.3 starter for a long time.
Also if I remember correctly he threw a shutout against the Rockies last year. He’s showed multiple times that he can shut down solid offenses, he’s proved to me that he’s a Major League quality arm and I hope the Giants don’t trade him. He’s part of the future alongside Anderson, Rodriguez and Suarez. Hopefully they extend Bumgarner to be the mentor of those young arms for the next 4-5 years.
That’s a pretty good staff right there with Bum as the leader/mentor to DRod, Suarez, Stratton and Andrrson while depth comes from developing better in the minors or cheap player Zaidi finds at local yard sales. I know a lot of people want Bum traded, but I don’t see the Giants getting value they deem appropriate. They’re looking at what he brings to the organization and that’s money with fans coming to see him pitch. I like our future in regards to pitching, catching and I believe FZ and Co will draft better, develop better, find diamonds in the ruff like he did in LA. Or as my ex wife says…”sale off everything and what you can’t sale, trash it….”
The reason that Stratton looked like a completely different pitcher in that game against the Dodgers was because it was right after his wife gave birth for the first time. He wasn’t the same after that, and the Giants eventually had to send him back to the minors to regain his focus. Once he was back in late August, he looked like the same occasionally dominant pitcher he’d been at the beginning of the season. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him have a break out year in 2019…
Stratton does not have great stuff. low-90’s FB, and his slider and change-up don’t grade out too well. He’s overlooked because he’s pitched better than his peripherals would indicate, and that usually isn’t sustainable.
his big stat is spin rate-
His curveball is his best pitch.
Never been first… how about Romo to the Braves?
would be very logical……cheap, one year deal
Can see Romo fitting in with most teams at this point because the cost should be far less than initially thought.
Boston?
Yep, has Braves written all over it.
Braves. All day.
Shark would be great as a bullpen guy. Also Think the giants should maybe trade a bullpen guy to cincy for Schebler.
I think Sharks best days were as a Closer,I would like to see them try that again especially after injury problems and I like Smith but not a true Closer 100% of the time
His 1 career save was definitely a highlight
The problem with Samardzikja in the pen is his strength, eating up innings, is negated. Of course it depends on his health. But if the shoulder has healed he should be starting, If it’s not, I don’t think he’ll be very good at whatever role he gets.
I’m with you, Shark is/was a value guy in Ks and innings pitched. I kept thinking he was a sleeper to bust out a Cy Young type season like Porcello did. His numbers across the board were descent enough to think it was possible. I think his arm might be toast.
Gio in that Giants rotation would make a lot of lefties in one rotation, wouldn’t it?
Dodgers and Red Sox have a lot of lefties and its worked out decently for them. Which hand a starter throws with is not nearly as important as their ability to get hitters out. If Gio is their best option, then they should jump on it regardless of handedness
Seems like that’s all they are interested in. Derek Rodriguez would be the only RHSP in the rotation.
I like Stratton as an option, but he’s more of a 5th/spot starter right now, especially with how I see Farhan wanting to run this rotation this year. IF all of these guys are with the organization this year, I cannot see anyone outside of Bumgarner eclipse the 150 IP mark.
I see Bumgarner as the lone wolf when it comes to taking the turn every 5th day. I could see combos like Rodriguez/Blach, Holland/Samardzija and Suarez/Stratton working off and on throughout the season. I see Pomeranz as a trade chip exclusively. He will pitch every 5th day until he’s traded or injured.
If Gio is signed, he will likely be a trade chip like Pomeranz, but it might end up with a trade of one of the existing starters. Reading about a Samardzija for Ellsbury and cash trade makes some sense.
I don’t think Pomeranz is a better option than Stratton. I think Pomeranz was signed for the relief/spot start role, I think Stratton has a real chance at being something special if given the 30 starts this year.
He got 26 starts last year. It’s not like they didn’t give him a chance. He looks like a #5. I’d take Pomeranz upside over him any day if he’s Velo is back to normal. If they’re rumored to be in on Gio the Giants/Farhan themselves must not be too enamored with these young SPs you guys have.
I think Pomeranz has more upside than Stratton. Stratton’s peripherals aren’t that good. He reminds me of Chris Heston, who no-hit the Mets, but just wasn’t very good after the hitters figured him out. I see Stratton in a long relief/spot start role.
Stratton has an amazing curveball, though, arguably better than Pomeranz curve, and it’s arguably the best pitch on the giants staff. His problem has always been staying consistent with that curveballs location, he tends to leave it up a lot and if he’s able to bury it more often during ABs I think he will find a lot more success. Just one of those things that can be fixed with good coaching and work in the offseason. We will see if Stratton worked hard enough to earn a spot, because his talent is there, work ethic is the question mark.
pom has better history
All those LH would work well when facing LA with all of their left-handed hitters.
I say Romo should go to the Pirates, it would give depth to an already strong bullpen, and it’ll give some much needed veteran help in that pitching area… As for Gio, I hope he goes to the rangers, give them another solid starter, but I think he’d be a great fit for the Rockies, he’d give them a veteran pitcher in that young Rotation, and give some solid innings for saving that strong bullpen for another night
What Gio have you been watching? I am so happy I don’t have to watch him throw 90 pitches through 5 innings if we were lucky. We often had the pen up by inning number 4. Great teammate but so inconsistent.
that’s what #4 starters do.
And fragile. Gio loses concentration in stressful situations.
Romo to the Pirates would be interesting if they paired him with Liriano to have lefty and righty “openers”.
With the way that Romo was used last year I could see the Twins being interested, especially since Baldelli made it clear that they’re very open minded when it comes to pitching strategies.
Confused as to why the Giants are considering Gio. Rotation is probably the best part of the Major League team right now, would love for us to sign or trade for an outfielder and a second baseman. Think that would wrap the offseason for us.
What’s your thoughts on Marwin Gonzalez? I thought he was Zaidi’s type of versitile type of player and fit our needs. ..
I think you’re right, Marwin is Zaidi’s type of player The problem is he would fit on a lot of teams, and that means competition. I don’t think Zaidi wants to spend what it will cost to sign him.
i think it all has to do with Harper. once he signs he will in a lot of ways set the top of the market and we will see who was in the market for an outfielder and who read on the market for a Harper. i am sure that zaidi would love Gonzales but is waiting the market to see who is available at what price
Zaidi is repeating what he did in LA, stockpiling arms for depth. He apparently believes in the adage that you can’t have too much pitching. Injuries happen, but even if no one gets is injured, there will undoubtedly be sub-par performances, and it will be nice to have replacement arms in either case.
First 2019 “ink the pact” dicta. Let the pitches and catchers report!
Giants are either collecting SPs to flip at the deadline or they hate their young SP options. Or a combo of both. With guys like Suarez, Stratton, Blach,Beede etc. all on hand it makes little sense to be targeting anyone else. Unless they have a delusional outlook on contention. Hopefully they intend to flip these guys. They need some prospect talent anyway possible.
And if they do plan on trying to make a run for the playoffs I’d hope they see that the black hole of an outfield is more of a need than another back end starter at this point. Hopefully that’s not there thought process but if so please address the OF there’s definitely some upgrades out there to the collection you currently have.
I don’t think they are down on the young pitchers, Zaidi has said he wants to limit innings and service time to have them longer with the next “competitive” window.. You’re right about the outfield, that’s where they need to focus. I thought Marwin Gonzalez was a good fit and maybe a creative trade for another OF, while Duggar mans CF and a few young guys vie for playing time. I would also like to see Slater be turned into a utility guy…
“Giants are either collecting SPs to flip at the deadline or they hate their young SP options.”
I don’t think it’s either one. Zaidi is doing exactly what he did with the Dodgers, stock piling arms. If someone gets injured, or performs poorly, they’ll have a back-up. It also helps limit the innings of the young guys.
I don’t know if that’s a blueprint that works everywhere. When you have 8-9 rotation options it’s probably time to say stop. Gio won’t go to the pen. Essentially your rotation would be all vets+Dereck Rodriguez and then you’ll have 4-5 other young SP candidates in AAA or the bullpen whom all have ML experience. With the money a guy like Gonzalez will cost I’d just as soon spend it in the Outfield where there’s not 3 ML caliber guys.
Gio be a great additional for any contender as a number 4
Mad Gio & Drod would be a formidable front 3
“Romo helped to pioneer the “opener” role with the Rays last season, making five starts in that still-developing role. He had three successful outings and one ugly showing as an opener…”
What happened the fifth time?
91 2/3 innings in 19 starts?? That’s 7 innings per start on average.
Never mind… I did 91 2/3 divided by 13 starts …
Giants interest in Gio makes sense if/when they flip Bumgarner, Smith, and/or Watson at the deadline (all lefties). I think it makes sense to convert Jeff Samardzija to a bullpen piece, likely long releiver. Depending on who gets the boot, Jeff can slide into that role.
I think you could make Samardzjia an effective reliever. Not as a log reliever but as a set up man. He has experience in that role and could do wonders for him. He makes entirely too much to have trade value in that role but that might be the new way to deploy him.
I agree, let him air it out for an inning as a set up guy or go a couple innings if guys need rest. Best way to use him if he’s not 100% able to start, where he could eat innings, but he might be effective at eating innings in the BP even as a set up guy if physically able. It might be an answer if they do trade Smith and/or Watson plus get some value from that contract…