Thanks to Kevin Gausman’s enormous rebound effort in San Francisco this year, the Giants decided over the weekend to issue the free-agent right-hander an $18.9MM qualifying offer. It’s possible Gausman will accept it by the Nov. 11 deadline, which Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic writes would be palatable for the Giants. However, the Giants are also interested in re-signing Gausman to a multiyear contract, according to Baggarly.
As a soon-to-be 30-year-old fresh off an excellent season, Gausman may be the second-most appealing starter on the open market. Indeed, the Giants do have him ranked as the No. 2 option available, trailing only ace Trevor Bauer, per Baggarly. While Gausman won’t do nearly as well as Bauer this winter, a deal in the three-year, $40MM to four-year, $50MM range isn’t out of the question, Baggarly notes. If the hard-throwing Gausman’s breakout continues, a contract along those lines could be a bargain.
Gausman has already given the Giants plenty of bang for their buck since they signed him to a $9MM guarantee last December. In what may go down as his only year as a Giant, he provided the club 59 2/3 innings of 3.62 ERA ball with the National League’s seventh-best K/BB ratio (4.94; 11.92 K/9 against 2.41 BB/9) and its ninth-ranked FIP (3.09).
In other Giants news, the club has made a pair of noteworthy cuts behind the scenes, Baggarly relays. Longtime major league lefty and former Giant Dave Righetti is out after 21 years as an assistant. Righetti was the Giants’ pitch coach for 18 years, a span in which he helped the team to three World Series titles, before moving into a special assistant role prior to 2018. Along with Righetti, the Giants waved goodbye to Shawon Dunston, who held coaching roles with the organization for 12 years. Dunston had a long big league career as an infielder/outfielder and spent four seasons with the Giants.
farhan doin a bang up job lol
What’s wrong with the job he is doing?
Absolutely nothing, but trolls on here are constantly whining about him
I know. I just like pointing them out. Maybe they will come out of the closet.
The Giants. LOL
Speaking of trolls…How are the Yankees? What a waste of money.
giantsgot3ringsinthepast 10yearsyankeescantevenmaketheshowbitches
27ringsbitches
The Giants may not be the strongest team at the moment but they are the ONLY team to have a dynasty this century. Don’t be such a fool. And change your name unless you want to attract scorn every time you post.
He has about 27 aliases. Besides, I think he likes getting spanked by other guys.
MoRivera 1999: How many of those rings came in your lifetime? Do you even know that your username is that of a guy who couldn’t cut it as a starting pitcher? Oh,yes. I can’t pitch more than 1x thru the lineup but I’m the best that there’s ever been at throwing between 2/3-2 innings. The worst example of who should be a unanimous HOF inductee.
4 championships by Boston in this century puts them ahead of SF in the 21st century dynasty talk.
Dynasty? Yeah the only team to book 4 back to back below .500 losing Seasons in the 21 century??
@27bitches Have you thought about getting a real life? Your obsession with the Giants must at some point get tiresome.
I hate the Yankees but you’re a F’n moron. Mariano Rivera is one of the greatest relievers ever and a reason the Yanks won a lot in his day. The amount of innings is not relevant here, it’s the body of work.
right time was a lefty.
Not seeing the problem with the QO for gausman. They need pitching and have money to burn if he doesn’t workout. Is it really outside the realm of possibility that he doesn’t accept the qualifying offer in search of a longer term deal being that he’s one of the top arms available and the Giants were banking on him rejecting it for a comp pick?
Gausman will have to take the offer. No way he gets more for one year on market and teams will not want to give up draft pick to sign him unless at cut rate deal. Better luck next year Kevin.
Righetti was a left-hander
Gausman is Jeremy Hellickson 2.0. Take the QO and run.
I agree
How is hellickson the comp here? Wasn’t hellickson a soft pitch to contact pitcher? At his peak he never had anywhere close to a 11.9 k per 9
Clampdown:
I know, right? Hellickson has a career average of 91.4 on his FB. while Gausman averaged 95.4 on his. Hellickson retired after 10 years with a 10.4 WAR, while Gausman has accumulated a WAR of 15 in 8 years. No way are these two similar, or comparable, in any way whatsoever.
They both bounced around before having an over achieving season and received the QO (that they shouldn’t have) at the exact same age. Not everything is about stuff. Gausman had a few good games in a short seaso. now all of a sudden he is some great asset? Braves and Reds both wanted to get rid of him for nothing for a reason.
GoLandCrabs:
Sorry, no. Just because two guys bounce around does not make them similar. Not everything is about stuff, true, but two pitchers with different stuff does make them different. Nice, too, how you avoided addressing their disparate player values. Gausman’s WAR averages .875 more per season than Hellickson’s. In Hellickson’s 8th season his WAR was .03, Gausman’s was 1.5 after his 8th. Not comparable.
Pitchers WAR really? Thats extremely unreliable as it is. Averaging it out is utterly useless. Hellicksons 8th season was the year he got the QO so for Gausman thats a season that hasn’t even happened yet. The season that got Hellickson his QO he pitched 130 innings more than Gausman and only had a 0.11 higher ERA. The only reason you feel this way is Hellickson is a known wash out while Gausman is TBD.
“Pitchers WAR really?”
Could you be more predictable? It’s so obvious when some people see a a stat that cuts their opinion, the first response is to attack the stat. You aren’t the first. I’ve seen people like you say things like “OPS+ (or wRC+, or ERA+) isn’t the be all end all”.
“Hellicksons 8th season was the year he got the QO so for Gausman thats a season that hasn’t even happened yet.”
Wrong again. Hellickson got the QO in 2016 after his 7th season, and 2020 was Gausman’s 8th season. The fact that 2020 was shortened is irrelevant, A lot of players are getting paid based on what they did in the shortened 2020 season.
Don’t like the average of their WAR per season? Fine. There is still the big difference in their career WAR. Plus, Hellickson got the QO with, until then, a career WAR of 9.2, whereas Gausman got his QO with a WAR that is 15.
Face it, You made a casual comparison of Hellickson and Gausman that doesn’t fit. Gausman has much better stuff, and has been more productive for his career than Hellickson. His peripherals are much better. You only make yourself look worse by sticking to it.
You don’t like what Gausman brings to the table? You don’t think the QO was a good idea? Fine, I can respect that, and still disagree. But the Hellickson/Gausman comp just doesn’t fly.
GoLandCrabs – I’m afraid you’re right.
The reason Gausman got the offer was not because in a regular market he is worth 18M, it’s because the only other good pitchers on the market are either old (Morton, Kluber) or extremely expensive (Bauer). Gausman and Stroman are the ones falling in that middle range making them extreme beneficiaries of what looks to be a deflated market for everyone else.
Everyone is cutting loose the Special Assistants. Can’t justify the cost.
Wonder if Righetti would like to fill a pitching coach vacancy in Detroit?
If you go back a year and see that Bauer and Gausman are no 1 and 2 available in the market for SP this winter you would not believe it. How depressing is the market
Cole?
Never mind
Bauer may end up with a Cy Young this year. I’d like the Giants to offer 5/145. Get him and Gausman, slide Cueto to the third spot in the rotation, and see what’s available in our system.
All we can do is hope this dude performs like he did this year for that kind of money. Posey can only help Gausman so that’s a plus. Here’s hoping.
Rags was a lefty
Is a lefty
Good for you to mention it. So disrespectful to a great man with his impressive credentials. One of the best lefties ever in this game.
…or it was just a simple mistake
Could have been a simple mistake but in this case I think It should have been proof read.
Didn’t know Rags is still pitching …… lol
Righetti & Dunston are two great coaches that gave many years of blood, sweat and tears to the Giants and shouldn’t be cast off like garbage. Who is Farhan going get rid of next ?? Willie Mays !!
Ok Farhan, who are you going to sign with all the money your saving ?
I’ll take Bauer & Springer. Then you can move Dubon back to second base, where he belongs, not in CF.
Mays is not a coach. Coaches always leave teams. Dubon is fine in Centerfield.
How do you know it was Zaidi that let Righetti and Dunston go? Maybe it was Kapler who wanted younger guys that were more in line with his approach.
Talking Baseball, I agree, Fahran firing them is complete slap in the face. Neither of those two were in coaching jobs so neither were in positions that affected the win/loss and therefore the only reason to get rid of them is because you’re trying to continue to get rid of the past. They did it to Bochy, they’ve done it to Bochy’s staff Zaidi wants nothing to do with the past Giants.
I’m sure he can’t wait til Craw, Belt, and Posey are gone.
I think the Giants GM hit “send” on his Gausman offer by mistake and has been frantically trying to hit “unsend” ever since. I bet he’s gone through 3 or 4 keyboards already
I think you’re seriously deluded. The QO makes sense for the Giants. Paying a few extra million to guarantee they get the guy they want is not outrageous by a long shot. And, if it was so out of line, how come Gausman hasn’t accepted already?
To your last question, Gausman has guaranteed money in hand. No reason to accept it until the last moment while his agent makes a few phone calls.
“The 2-1 pitch is a STRIIIIIKE on the outside corner to Dunston!”
Now if they could get rid of the Dodgers GM and get someone who cares about SF that would be great.
What does the Dodgers GM have to do with San Francisco?
He isn’t the GM, but I agree he just wants to put his own people in every position and get rid of all that was there.
Zaidi said he wanted to spend money on pitching. He said he wanted to bring back Gausman. This move depresses Gausman in the free market.
If the Giants don’t put a QO on Gausman, who are they going to get ? Not Bauer. Mostly guys older people or coming off much worse small sample sized seasons or didn’t pitch due to injury. Makes Gausman the most attractive pitcher on the market for the Giants. Zaidi paid $15 M for Cozart to get a prospect. $19 M for Gausman is more than he might be worth, but trips up his ability to get say $30M for 3 years
19 million for 58 innings? Wow and before that he was a HACK. Oh Billy Eppler must be salivating somewhere. The title of wasting $$$ on has beens is about to be passed on.
Prorated 9 million for 59 innings. 18.9 million for close to 200 innings.
Guasman has to accept the offer as he’ll never make that money in one season again. Idk what the Giants are thinking but Gausman is not worth that amount, such an overrated player this season
Generally, players care more about security than cashing in on one big year. Yeah, he could accept and make more this year than any other in his career. But chances are, since him re-signing with the Giants is mutually desired, them re-signing him to a 3 or 4 year deal at $12-15M per, is probably what’s going to happen, not him accepting the QO.
He will accept the offer and then come to a long term agreement with the Giants. You are allowed to accept the offer and continue to negotiate a long term deal with the team, which ends up replacing the 1/$18M QO amount once signed. The extension needs to be agreed to by a certain date (I think prior to opening day).
tad2b13 – I think you’re spot on. If the Giants go 3/$36M, I think it’s a practical move. If they go 3/$45M, it’s a mistake. If—as the story suggests—they go 4/$50M, they’re out of their minds. Gausman has been terrible for years and this year’s small sample may or may not portend a bonafide improvement. I understand the QO but hope SF doesn’t get ahead of itself.
I don’t think they get him for 12 mil a season. Every expert suggests he is the 2nd or 3rd most sought after FA pitcher this offseason. All the at home couch experts forget about supply and demand. I think it’ll be closer to 14/per for 3 seasons.
Bad decision