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Jeff PassanESPN
Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani and the San Francisco Giants agreed to a three-year contract, the team announced Monday. The contract totals $36 million, as the club locked up the 31-year-old who thrived during a one-year showcase.
The Giants, who led baseball with 107 wins last season, are aggressively moving to rebuild their rotation. Another pitcher the team is pursuing is right-hander Alex Cobb, a source told ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
DeSclafani turned in the best season of his career in 2021 after signing with the Giants for $6 million, going 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA over 167.2 innings. Primarily a fastball-slider pitcher, DeSclafani’s premium control and the Giants’ excellent defense paired well as he tied a career high with 31 starts.
San Francisco’s desire to jump the pitching market comes as a potential Dec. 2 lockout approaches and a finite amount of rotation-worthy pitching continues to come off the board. Those who have signed already include Justin Verlander, Noah Syndergaard, Eduardo Rodriguez and Andrew Heaney. The next week could see Cobb, left-hander Steven Matz, right-hander Jon Gray and right-hander Corey Kluber find deals.
The best pitchers in the class — Max Scherzer, Robbie Ray, Kevin Gausman and Marcus Stroman — could wait until after the lockout to sign.
After the DeSclafani signing, the Giants’ projected payroll is around $100 million, giving them significant flexibility to pursue big- and small-dollar free agents alike as they try to strengthen their lineup and put together a rotation behind 25-year-old Logan Webb, their breakout star from 2021.
They are already at work with left-hander Alex Wood, who is finalizing a two-year contract worth north of $10 million a season, sources familiar with the agreement told ESPN Monday night, confirming a report from FanSided.
