Although he’s soon to become one of the top free-agent pitchers in the majors, right-hander Kevin Gausman has interest in remaining with the Giants, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. As Schulman points out, you’d expect that type of sentiment from a pending free agent. However, Gausman noted that the presence of Giants icon and catcher Buster Posey was among the reasons he signed with them, and he’d like to pitch to Posey next season.
[RELATED: 2020-21 Free Agents]
Unfortunately for Gausman, he hasn’t gotten an opportunity to team with Posey yet. The backstop opted out of the season before it began because of coronavirus concerns. In the absence of the six-time All-Star, the Giants have turned to a combination of touted prospect Joey Bart, Chadwick Tromp and Tyler Heineman behind the plate. The Giants hope Bart will end up as the long-term successor to Posey, but the latter is still under contract for 2021. That means Gausman could get his wish to work with Posey if he re-signs in the offseason.
Less than a year ago, the Giants bought relatively low on Gausman – a former Oriole, Brave and Red – with a $9MM guarantee, and the soon-to-be 30-year-old has since turned in one of the best seasons of his career. Through 58 2/3 innings, the hard-throwing Gausman has logged a 3.68 ERA with 11.81 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9. He ranks seventh among qualified National League starters in both strikeouts per nine and FIP (3.15).
Considering his output with San Francisco, there’s little doubt Gausman will do land a much bigger payday during the upcoming winter. In fact, it’s quite possible the Giants will hand Gausman a qualifying offer before free agency commences.
It seems that Gaus’s career is in flux. Perhaps he can be attracted by a new Tesla. He played the whole season, pole to pole!
I saw what you did there Sparky
I am glad you got a charge out of my comment and found it current.
It was your magnetic personality that had such a high potential.
Ohm my. To such flattery I have no resistance.
This exchange was better than the article.
Can Posey make a potential difference for Gausman?
You 2 should meet.
In principle, I am uncertain.
Hardly shocking
Gausman accepts the QO in a heartbeat if the Giants extend it.
No way. He’s getting at least 3/40 next year. Hard throwing and back on track. I really hope the Giants resign him.
Re-sign.
@Cey Hey they can do better than Gausman if they really have the ability to force guys to sign with them (Bauer)
Agreed. If you’re going to spend the money, do it on the right guy. An interesting aspect of this is whether the expanded playoff format returns. If so, adding Bauer to the top of their rotation would give the Giants a chance to make post-season noise even as a seventh or eighth seed, The Bauer market, in general, would take off. Ironic that noted Manfred critic Bauer might benefit from a change associated with Manfred.
I would accept it if I was him…he’ll never see that money
I always felt he could be a late bloomer. He is the type of SP Phillies would make a push to sign.
id prefer them not sign him or Bauer just because of the inconsistency from year to year. the reason Wheeler differs a bit is he lost two years to injury. wasn’t a late bloomer as much as his timeline was set back.
in fact, Gausman isnt even the 1st Gaints SP id target. id bring back Smyly over him.
He’ll certainly cost a lot less
Smily only threw a dozen innings this year.
antibelt:
What’s your point? It isn’t at all unusual that a pitcher that loses some time to injury, in a short 60 game season, will not have a lot of IPs.
I’m glad to hear Gausman likes SF cuz he’s getting a QO. But what he should really do is talk to the Giants about a 3-4 year deal at $15M/year.
Other teams will balk at giving up a prospect for this guy. But he looked good this year. All he needs to do is learn how to pitch to contact and he can really good.
I do not see anyone guaranteeing 4 years at $15 million per year for basically two months of pitching well. I do not think he could get 3 years at $45 million guaranteed either. Just my opinion.
Not many options out there in regard to high upside SP. He may not be “worth” that much but I could really see the market driving him that high. At least without a QO, that is always a wildcard
I would not give Gausman a 3-4 year deal. He’s really a #5 SP, and despite being somewhat okay this year, he has proved nothing. I WOULD offer him a QO and hope someone else grabs him. And if not, then Giants would be overpaying for only one year—a year they’ll need some rotation arms as tgey build to respectability.
In other words this is code for: “with my track record I’ll sign anywhere.”.
Remember when the Orioles wanted one of Atlanta’s top pitching prospects for this guy? Gausman throws 2-3 pitches, primarily fastball/splitter. If he isn’t on his game that day he’ll easily get ousted by the 5th inning. He can be a good 4-5, but that’s all I would count on.
i mean people are raving about the year he’s having, but he’s been a 3.70ish pitcher. he’s thrown a lot of K’s this year but that’s sure to regress a bit and even with the Ks he still hasnt been more then what a a 3/4 pitcher for a competitive team would be in a normal year. and that’s saying nothing of his midling track record.
Of course he is open to staying. Why would he not? Great City. Team on the upswing and he is having success.
Then again why is this news. Not many free agents to be state they are staying put.
who doesn’t call their city “great?”
Incoming guys from Nebraska and Missouri here to tell us about how bad San Francisco is…
Have you ever been to Nebraska?!?
Chadwick Tromp is an all-time great baseball name.
If the Giants bring back Gausman in 2021, they’ll be paying him more than twice the combined salary of Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin. The Braves and Indians will have similar situations with their rotations. A guy like Gausman might be a decent stopgap. Just don’t overpay to retain his services.
What the hell are you talking about? Your rant is pretty bizarre. You are not as smart as you think.
that’s not a rant, that’s a reasonable statement.
Yes. It is rant. Spewing a bunch of random players salaries as how you should evaluate a players contribution to a team is psychotic.
Howie415, Those aren’t random players. They are four starting pitchers for the best team in baseball. And they are all preferable to Gausman. Payroll management is critically important. If you develop starting pitchers, you can spend money elsewhere as the Dodgers did with Betts. We see more teams taking this philosophy with starting pitchers. Dodgers, Braves, Indians, Rays, Padres. It’s a major reason why those teams are in relatively good shape over the next few years. Why do you think it is a rant?
First of all, the teams you mention have fewer rings over the past 20 years than the Giants. Second, the Giants payroll is much lower than the teams you mentioned. Third, the evaluation of the Giants farm system keeps rising. Gausman wants to work with Buster Posey. It will help Bart. There might be an overpay for Gausman. But, the transference of knowledge on big league level will be worth it.
that’s not a rant, that’s a reasonable statement.
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To say that a veteran FA player will cost than pre-arb players, is accurate, but not a reasonable statement. It’s a bit like standing in the rain, and then stating ‘I think it will rain today’.
Obviously CeyHey is a dodger fan. He’s Cey Hey. So he’s listing dodger pitchers…they’re not random. I’ll argue with him that he’s listing cheaper (due to early career status) pitchers so it may not be reasonable to compare them to Gausman salary wise.
BUT, I wanna say that as a Giants fan it is appreciated that a Dodger fan posts with Giants fans and has solid, non antagonistic suggestions. Thank you Cey Hey. Your posts are well thought out and great reads. Don’t let people like Howie get to you. He’s essentially your opposite.
Having said that, question. What is the QO this year. I’d rather pay Gausman one year of that ?? price than multiyears.
My 2 cents
Thanks, Claude Raymond (a fine all-star reliever in ’66). .I have no problems at all with the Giants being successful. As a Dodger fan, the three titles in five years was a reminder of how things are supposed to be done. Though I’m a Dodger fan, I like to play GM for variouis teams as it’s fun trying to figure out what they’ll do to improve. Re Gausman, just my opinion on how the game seems to be going with teams trying to get the most bang for their buck. Homegrown SPS is a way to do that. On one hand, Gausman might be a decent fill-in over the short term if the price is right. On the other, teams will probably be careful about putting too much stock in performances during a 60-game season. That goes for the team as well as individual performance. The Giants have had a fantastic 2020 run, thanks in part to veterans upping their numbers in the second half. In my opinion, that doesn’t mean they should deviate from their longterm plan. Their window will open as those contracts wind down. In the meantime, they can remain a competitive thorn-in-the -side, especially if the expanded playoff format remains. Many fans hate it, but I think it will better for baseball in the long run (no more tear-downs and five-year rebuilds). We’ll see.
Yes, he pitched for the Expos. Many teams rebuilt while losing 90-100 games. For the giants to be this competitive WHILE rebuilding is fun.
Yeah, I was a bit grumpy yesterday. I see so many people on here just ripping on the Giants, that I irked and defensive. Yeah, they are mediocre right now. But, there is a lot potential in the Farm System, thanks Bobby Evans. The players on the big club are competitive and have a winning attitude. It might take them 5 years to be in serious title contention. But, the team in a great direction.
No, that is just a really comparison. You can find dozens, perhaps hundreds, of players under team control, that are cheaper and performing better than other guys that signed as FAs. It’s a classic apples and oranges comparison
.
So tad, not sure if you posted elsewhere or orherwise, do you offer Gausman multi years?
Sorry, I didn’t see your post. I would, but I’d try to limit it to 3 years, and be happy with 2 productive seasons. I’d be more wary if he were older. But he doesn’t turn 30 until January. There will be a dearth of SPs, and mid-rotation arms, which is how I see him, will probably be getting $12-$15M per. I guess I’d offer 3/36 and load it up with performance incentives.
Gausman had a decent season and i don’t see him commanding a huge salary. Giants have nothing to lose re-signing him to a one or two year deal
Depends on the price. The Mets gave Rick Porcello $10 million in a “normal” winter and it was considered by some observers to be an overpay. Post-COVID, you gotta think Gausman gets less than that. The question is how much less.
to be fair Porcello’s value was inflated by the Cy year. Gausman’s track record is at least a little better, even if 2019 raises some concerns.
DarkSide, It can be argued that Gausman has yet to peak. The post-COVID offseason will be fascinating considering the dearth of starting pitching. I enough teams are in on Gausman, he might do reasonably well. An intriguing guy is Taijuan Walker given his age. You can see him having a lights-out playoff start and cashing in as Eovaldi did two years ago.
yeah, Tai’s my guy. on gausman though, betting on Gausman to improve at his age is a risk unless its at a reasonable price.
Kevin Gausman is my third cousin. But besides that, paying this guy 15 million a year for 3 years seems insane considering he usually sucks.
Translation: My third cousin doesn’t deserve $15 million because he gives crappy Christmas presents.
Kevin Gausman is my second cousin, and I’m telling him you said that.
You are obviously a Russian troll and I bet your 1st Cousin is plowing your ass right now.
Howie415, why all the anger tonight?
LOL
Me, me first cousin, and Kevin Gausman are giving your mom the old air tight treatment right now.
You are obviously A Russian Communist Troll. In a capitalist society, kevin Gausman has earned a contract greater than 5 million a year.
Nobody is arguing he deserves less than 5 million a year. OP said 15 million a year for 3 years. Awfully butt hurt for a man accusing someone else of being plowed in the ass
good thing we have a new troll to be annoyed by. smh.
1 yr/$9M should get the job done.
I expect Gausman to get
Plenty of 2 year offers in the $10-12MM range. Then, someone will come in and offer him a third year and he’ll take it. 3 years/$11per is my guess. Maybe that’s the Giants, which I’d be fine with.
He’ll get 3/35-40 from some team.
Would a team be willing to go three years with Gausman though? I get he’s coming off a good season, but he’s so inconsistent.
I have no doubt some team will give him 3 years. There’s more than one team that will be desperate for pitching. He’s only 29. He may finally be finding that consistency he’s lacked so far. And no team ever believes that a player will be worth his salary every year of a contract. If they give 3 years, they’ll be happy with 2. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised, given his age and dearth of SPs, him getting 4 years.
Would love to see the Glen sign Willie Mays to a one day contract and give him a few innings since the year is a wash
Who is the Glen? Signing Willie Mays to to a one day contract would be a huge sign of disrespect. Mays has open invitation to any Giants function. Why do you Russians post your gibberish.
anyonr who says something you find odd is a Russian?
They are quick to speak, not taking the time to compose well-thought out comments. Therefore they are Rushin.
Is it really necessary to have an article stating that a player ‘is open to staying’? I’ve been following BB for a really long time, and I don’t recall a player ever saying that they would definitely not return. You’d get booed, you’d eliminate one bidding option, and you’d be encouraging ownership to offer you a QO, if they were on the fence.
How about writing an article when you find someone saying they definitely WON’T return?
You’re correct that no player coming up on free-agency, has ever said. no he doesn’t want to stay. But I think this is a different case. First of all, this is the second time he’s said this. Before the trading deadline he said he hoped not to get traded, because he wanted to stay. Additionally, this time he talked about wanting to pitch to Posey, the initial reason for signing, and since he didn’t get the chance this year hoped to be able to do so next season.
That’s very different from most guys just saying they like where they are and hope to stay.
Billy Wagner
Pitching is always in demand and good pitching is hard to come by. That’s why the Giants will offer the QO to Gausman and use that leverage to hopefully sign him to a multiyear contract at a reasonable rate.
Giants are losing the Shark and his $18M/year contract (YEAH!) so reallocating their salary budget to a pitcher who actually pitched this year and did well is reasonable. Is Gausman worth $18M/year? Probably not but it’s only 1 year and there really are no bad one year contracts.
Gausman could be similar to Jake Arrieta who was a much better pitcher after he left Baltimore and went to the National League. Also, Gausman’s mastery of the changeup has really improved his results this year; he sits around 95 MPH with his fastball but his changeup is around 82 MPH, a big gap that throws off hitters timing.
Question is will the open market view his results from a 60 game season as proof enough to justify a large multi-year contract and the forfeiture of a draft pick (assuming again the Giants offer the QO).
Agreed davemlaw, and if they offer and he accepts the QO. Zaidi will just flip him at the deadline for another piece if they can’t get a multi-year deal done.
biffpocoroba, re deadline deals, a lot will depend on the number of teams in the playoff pool. If the expanded field returns and Gausman is lights-out, the Giants might consider keeping him even if they’re projected as only a seventh or eighth seed. A couple of top starters and any team can do damage with this format. Teams might alter their winter strategy with this in mind.
I’d give him a QO and not need to think about it. He’s too inconsistent and injured to make a prediction. But he figures to have a floor of maybe 1.8 WAR, and a much higher ceiling. The fact that you only have a one-year commitment trumps the annual salary, IMO.
Just for comparison, if he signed with the RS for say, $30M/3, I’d be pretty happy. So that, to me, has to be his salary floor, and i wouldn’t be shocked to see $36M/3.
Better get an electric car and party membership. Commies don’t play!
2 yrs/$20M?