SF Giants add former All-Stars in preparation of 2022 Season

A day after team owners and the MLB Players Association ended a 99-day lockout by striking a deal for a new collective bargaining agreement and agreeing to have a baseball season after all this year, the San Francisco Giants made their first splash of the off-season with the signing of former White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon. Agreeing to a 2-year, $33 Million dollar deal, the former first round pick of the White Sox who was selected third overall out of North Carolina State in the 2014 MLB Draft, joins a Giants ballclub looking to repeat as division champions after pulling off a major upset by fending off the high-powered and hated rival L.A. Dodgers in 2021. The deal for Rodon comes after the 29-year old southpaw enjoyed his best season in the Majors yet, winning a team-high 13 games for the AL Central-winning South Siders which also included his first All-Star nod. 

Perhaps the highlight of Rodon's season last year and the pinnacle of his big league career thus far, the former top prospect twirled the 20th no-hitter in White Sox franchise history in an 8-0 win over the Cleveland Indians on April 14. Rodon continued that early season dominance the rest of the way in 2021, finishing the season atop the leaderboard in earned run average with a minimum of 20 starts, pitching to the tune of a 2.37 ERA in 132.2 innings pitched which ranked best in the majors among starters. Unfortunately, Rodon would fall short of the 162 innings pitched threshold, preventing him from being recognized as the league's ERA leader. Durability and consistency are the two biggest question marks and concerns Rodon entering his Giants tenure, having only registered one season of 160+ innings pitched and just a single double-digit winning season to his name as Tommy John surgery and shoulder fatigue has plagued Rodon throughout his career. However, Giants GM Farhan Zaidi and skipper Gabe Kapler are hoping his success last year is just the start of Rodon turning a corner and putting his injury history behind him with more progress to be had. 

Other signings this offseason have included the likes of pitchers Alex Cobb, Jakob Junis and Carlos Martinez, as well as the re-signing of pitchers Anthony DeSclafani (3-years, $36 Million) and Alex Wood (2-years, $25 Million) as well as team captain Brandon Belt at first base. Cobb, who was drafted by Tampa Bay back in 2006, registered several solid seasons for the Rays, recording a sub-3 ERA in back to back seasons in 2013 (11-wins, 3-losses, 2.76 ERA) and 2014 (10-9, 2.87). After a handful of rough seasons in Baltimore with the lowly Orioles, the 34-year old right-hander got back on track in 2021 with the L.A. Angels where he went 8-3 with an ERA of 3.76. The Giants are hoping Cobb can continue to climb back to his former self, signing him to a 2-year, $20 Million dollar contract back on November 30. Righty Jakob Junis, formerly of the Kansas City Royals, is a swingman-type pitcher who has pitched both in the starting rotation and as a reliver, and will likely hear Kapler call his name from the bullpen after inking a one-year deal. The Giants also announced the signing of former Tigers lefty Matt Boyd (1-year, $5.2 Million plus incentives) who will be sidelined until midseason with an elbow injury that required surgery last September. Boyd is a distant relative of Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller and further adds to the team's pitching depth. 

One of the more interesting signings is that of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez. The former 2-time All-Star with the Redbirds saw a fall from grace after recording three consecutive stellar seasons as a starter from 2015 to 2017, before being thrusted into a role split between the starting rotation and as a reliver. Looking to rebound after back to back sub-par seasons out of the bullpen, Martinez lands with a Giants ballclub that has become a safe haven for second chances and a hotbed for players looking to make a rebound. In need of a bat to supply some thump in the outfield, the Giants kicked the tires on such big names as Nick Castellanos and potentially bringing back Kris Bryant, before ultimately deciding on a much cheaper approach by bringing in Joc Pederson. Agreeing to a 1-year, $6 Million dollar deal, the Palo Alto native returns home to the Bay Area where he hopes to visit McCovey Cove quite often with his bat as a left-handed power-hitter. Having played his first 6+ big league seasons in the division with the Dodgers before splitting 2021 with the Cubs and Braves, Pederson became just the ninth players in Major League history to win back to back World Series titles with different teams. Now he'll try to become the first to ever do so with three different ballclubs as he joins the hometown Giants who are coming off a 107-win season, their most in franchise history. 

Whether or not the Giants will have enough firepower to keep up with the Dodgers' ever-expanding cast of All-Stars which just added former MVP first baseman Freddie Freeman to the mix with a megadeal worth $162 Million over six-years, will be a tall task to say the least, but is a challenge Kapler and company will not shy away from. As for the notable departures, outfielder Alex Dickerson (Braves), infielder Donovan Solano (Reds) and outfielder/infielder Kris Bryant (Rockies) all inked deals to play elsewhere, as did reliever Reyes Moranta (Dodgers), while SP Johnny Cueto and RP Tony Watson remain free-agents. Meanwhile, the Giants prepare for life after former All-Star and MVP catcher Buster Posey who announced his retirement following the 2021 season. Opening Day is scheduled for April 7.

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Surprising Giants Win Season-Series over Rival Dodgers

The wonder boys of San Francisco have done it again, this time reclaiming sole possession of first place in the National League West after taking two of three from the archrival Los Angeles Dodgers and besting their hated foes to claim the season series: 10 games to 9. Let's face it, the Giants weren't even supposed to be here heading into the season, especially this late into the year, not to mention against the All-Star cast of talent that is the defending champion Dodgers. And yet, Gabe Kapler's ragtag Giants team has found a way to do it again, this time taking the rubber-match at San Francisco's Oracle Park, while handing Cy Young contender Walker Buehler his first career loss to the Giants in 10 career starts and his worst outing of the season in which he allowed a season-high six earned runs over a season-low three innings pitched. All while the Giants were forced to play their second consecutive bullpen game in as many days. 

As good as Buehler had been this season while boasting a record of 13-2 and an MLB-best earned run average of 2.05 entering Sunday's outing, he's been even better when facing the Giants. Prior to Sunday's game which was televised on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, Buehler had absolutely owned the Giants this season to the tune of a 0.79 ERA in 34 innings against them over five starts. With a perfect record of 7-0 against San Francisco in 12 career games, including 10 starts, Buehler has especially enjoyed pitching at Oracle Park where he's won all six of his starts there since being called up to the Majors in 2017. However, with first place on the line, the Giants were finally able to breakthrough against Buehler, attacking him early and often in the count. After a solo home run from Brandon Belt opened things up in the first inning, the recently recalled Steven Duggar who was called up from Triple-A Sacramento and plugged into the lineup just hours before first-pitch, delivered a 2-run triple before eventually scoring on a single from Darin Ruf. Brandon Crawford and Curt Casali continued the surge with an RBI double and RBI single, respectively, ending Buehler's night after only three innings pitched. The Dodgers were aided a run on a controversial ball-four call that drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth and got a pair of runs late in the 9th inning off of a pinch-hit homer from Albert Pujols, but were unable to complete the rally before falling by a final score of 6-4. 

Despite their struggles hitting with runners in scoring position in the first two games of the series (a combined 4-for-30), those struggles were nonexistent in the finale for the G-Men (4-for-10) when facing one of baseball's best. After surrendering sole possession of first-place in the NL West for the first time since April 25, the Giants reclaimed their throne with the thrilling victory in the series-finale to their epic season-long battle which could very well witness another chapter, but in postseason-form. Dating back to their days in New York, the Giants and Dodgers have never met in the postseason up to this point, and could very well see that come to an end this year if whichever team is forced to play in the one-game Wild Card playoff, is able to win their game and advance to the National League Division Series. As if the rivalry needed anymore drama added into the mix. Since dropping their first four games of the season to L.A., the Giants have gone on to win 10 of the last 15 versus Dave Roberts' Dodgers club. With just a 1-game lead in the division following a win from both teams on Labor Day, the Giants currently own the best record in all of baseball at 88-50 and will try to keep their distance over Los Angeles in the standings with only 24 games remaining in the regular season. 

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The Giants are Baseball's Best 1.5 Months in

A month and a half into the 2021 MLB season and it's the San Francisco Giants who own the best record in all of baseball at 22-14 entering May 12, much to the surprise of, well, everyone. Sitting atop the National League West and playing alongside the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers who continue to add and develop star talent, as well as the juggernaut San Diego Padres who won the offseason with several big name acquisitions, it's the Giants who have took the league by storm with their red-hot start. Closing in on their 29-31 record from 2020 when the Giants fell one win shy of clinching a playoff berth just a year ago in the pandemic-shortened season which would've been their first trip to the postseason since 2016, manager Gabe Kapler's team of outcasts appears to be a little more well-rounded this time around despite a veteran-heavy lineup. 

While the orange and black continue to take advantage of a slumping Dodgers team and a banged up Padres squad that has been riddled up and down the lineup with Covid issues, the argument can only go so far when crying fluke as SF stands above the rest with an MLB-best 14-4 record at home. Having flourished in large part thanks to an impressive pitching staff which has pitched brilliantly to the tune of a 3.34 team ERA which ranks 6th in all of baseball, starters Kevin Gausman (3-0, 1.97 ERA) and Anthony DeSclafani (2-1, 2.40 ERA) have helped lead the way for the Giants, as both are in the top-20 in lowest-ERA's among starting pitchers. Another surprise -- the club has also slugged their way into the top-5 in team home runs with 47 long balls. Among those suppling the power inside the lineup is none other than former MVP Buster Posey. The 6-time All-Star catcher has enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence this season and is swinging a hot stick to this point in his return after missing all of the 2020 season due to the pandemic. Hitting .385 on the year, the now 34-year old Posey shares a team-lead with 8 home runs on the year, tied with teammate Brandon Belt (8), three behind the league-leader. Shortstop and fellow-Giant Brandon Crawford is not far behind with 7 HR's. 

Only the St. Louis Cardinals who share a 22-14 record atop the NL Central can boast about owning the best winning percentage (.611) in all of baseball. However, the Giants currently stand above the Redbirds as they own a +31 run differential compared to St. Louis' +28 entering Wednesday. After a short two-game sweep of the Texas Rangers which concluded on Tuesday at San Francisco's Oracle Park, the Giants will turn their attention to a pair of NL Central division foes when they embark on an 8-game road trip to face the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, before getting their first crack at the archrival Dodgers. Having already surpassed the expectations of many around the game of baseball, the question now turns to whether or not the Giants can sustain their surprisingly hot start as they begin to receive contributions from a number of other players including starting pitcher Logan Webb and the recently acquired Mike Tauchman in the outfield. 

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