San Francisco Giants

Kevin Gausman on Tuesday agreed to join the San Francisco Giants on a one-year, $9 million contract, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The right-handed pitcher also has performance bonuses included in the deal, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Gausman spent 2019 with the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds. The 28-year-old began the season with the Braves before the Reds claimed him off waivers Aug. 5.

With Atlanta, Gausman went 3-7 with a 6.19 ERA across 16 starts. He embraced a relief role in Cincinnati, appearing in 15 games but starting only one. He went 0-2 with a 4.03 ERA.

Gausman hadn't made a regular-season appearance out of the bullpen since 2015 prior to doing so for the Reds, according to Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"I think the reason the Giants had to pay $9 [million] is because other teams had fatter offers for Gausman, but as a reliever," The Athletic's Grant Brisbee relayed. "He clearly wants to start."

The Giants starting rotation, according to the club's depth chart, is Jeff Samardzija, Johnny Cueto, Tyler Beede, Dereck Rodriguez and Logan Webb. The glaring omission is ace Madison Bumgarner, who became a free agent after rejecting the Giants' qualifying offer. 

Gausman will not fill the void Bumgarner left behind. 

The Baltimore Orioles drafted Gausman fourth overall in 2012. Since then, he has not lived up to expectations. His best stint came after the Orioles traded him to Atlanta in 2018. He started 10 games for the Braves, going 5-3 with a 2.87 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. 

Overall, Gausman is 47-63 with a 4.30 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 855 strikeouts in 925.2 innings across 191 games, including 154 starts.

The San Francisco Giants acquired infielder Zack Cozart and minor-league shortstop Will Wilson from the Los Angeles Angels for cash considerations and/or a player to be named later the team announced Tuesday. 

Cozart, 34, hit .124 in an injury-shortened 2019 season that lasted 38 games. The Angels took the 21-year-old Wilson in the first round of the 2019 MLB draft. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times called him a "good all-around talent with lower ceiling."

Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Giants will pay the final $12.67 million of Cozart's contract, which expires after 2020. That will free up some salary for the Angels to pursue free-agent starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, who is the American League's reigning Cy Young winner.

Cozart was an All-Star just two seasons ago, slashing .297/.385/.548, hitting 24 home runs and knocking in 63 runners in 122 games.

However, injuries have limited him to 96 games in 2018 and 2019. A season-ending torn labrum prematurely ended his 2018 campaign, where he had five home runs and 18 RBI in 58 contests. A neck strain and an injured left shoulder kept him off the field for most of 2019.

Wilson hit .275 with five home runs and 18 RBI over 46 games for the Orem Owlz, the Angels' Rookie League affiliate. Los Angeles took Wilson 15th overall after the former North Carolina State star hit .339 with 16 home runs and 57 RBI for the Wolfpack in 2019.

The San Francisco Giants are rebuilding and may not be the ideal destination for a 30-year-old pitcher, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Monday his team will meet with Madison Bumgarner at the winter meetings, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area:

"We're involved in those discussions. We're planning to meet with his representatives this week and they have other meetings scheduled, too. That's what happens when a player is a free agent, they're going to explore all their options. Guys are looking for different things, looking for maybe a particular geography, maybe a team in a specific part of their competitive cycle.

"We're one of the suitors. We're just going to put our best foot forward and see what happens, but he's earned this opportunity to be a free agent and, as we expected, there's no shortage of interest in a guy with his pedigree."

On Wednesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Bumgarner prefers to stay with the Giants, for whom he has pitched his entire career. He also noted, however, that San Francisco has "shown no inclination to keep him."

Zaidi told Pavlovic that Bumgarner's popularity in San Francisco will at least factor in to any decision-making in regards to the southpaw.

"I think [winning] has to be our primary goal, and sometimes that takes making difficult decisions, but we definitely appreciate the connection that our fans make with these players," Zaidi said. "It's very unique in baseball."

The team that signs Bumgarner will surely be looking at a significant contract. Nightengale reported the three-time World Series champion is expected to make at least $100 million with his next deal as the third-best pitcher on the market behind Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg.

Bumgarner is a four-time All-Star and proven October competitor with World Series MVP and National League Championship Series MVP Awards on his resume.

He was still impressive last year with a 3.90 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 203 strikeouts in 207.2 innings.

The San Francisco Giants remain "in communication" with Madison Bumgarner as the southpaw explores his market in free agency.

"(Bumgarner) is a free agent and we're in communication there," Giants president Farhan Zaidi said, per The Athletic's Daniel Brown. "And he's going to vet all of his options. Being a free agent is something guys aspire to. It's nice to be at a point in your career where you're getting courted and can look around at your options."

This comes after Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Bumgarner's preference is to remain with the Giants but that the team has "shown no inclination to keep him."

Taken 10th overall in 2007, Bumgarner has spent his entire career with the San Francisco organization. He has put together an incredible resume since debuting in 2009, going 119-92 with a 3.13 ERA.

Most notably, he is 8-3 with a 2.11 ERA in 16 career postseason outings, including 14 starts. He has played a crucial role in three World Series championships, carrying the team to a title while winning both the NLCS and World Series MVP awards in 2014.

Bumgarner is coming off one of the most team-friendly contracts in MLB history, as he signed a five-year, $35 million deal as a 22-year-old in 2012. After signing that deal, he went on to earn four All-Star selections, four top-10 finishes in National League Cy Young award voting, two Silver Sluggers and two World Series titles.

Although nothing was official at the time, Giants fans made sure to show him some love in what could have been his final home game at Oracle Park in September:

Bumgarner, 30, is now expected to cash in during free agency, as he has a number of teams interested in his services. According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals are all among the teams in the mix.

A North Carolina native, Bumgarner may be interested in playing elsewhere moving forward, especially with the Giants in the midst of a rebuild.

"Obviously, he has roots in other parts of the country that may be attractive to him," Zaidi noted, per Brown. "It's his decision. That's the beauty of free agency for players. But we are going to be involved in that process."

That said, the team is not ruling out a return.

"We are in communication with his representatives," Zaidi said.

Madison Bumgarner has gotten plenty of interest around the league after hitting free agency for the first time in his career.

According to Andy Martino of SNY, the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins are among the "heaviest suitors" for the veteran pitcher, while the New York Yankees are also pursuing the left-hander.

The 30-year-old has spent his entire career with the San Francisco Giants and finished last season with a 9-9 record and a 3.90 ERA, the lowest of his 11 years in the majors.

Despite the up-and-down season, Bumgarner's strikeout rates were up after two injury-filled seasons, and he also topped 200 innings for the seventh time in nine years.

At his best, he has proved to be one of the top pitchers in baseball with four All-Star selections from 2013-16, earning a top-10 Cy Young finish in each of those seasons. Of course, he is best known for his postseason heroics in helping the Giants bring home three World Series titles.

Bumgarner has a 2.11 ERA in 102.1 playoff innings during his career, winning both NLCS and World Series MVP awards.

This type of resume should catch the eye of every contender hoping to improve their title chances in 2020.

It clearly makes a lot of sense for both the Yankees and Twins, two teams that won over 100 games last year but fell short in the playoffs. Both also have outstanding lineups but question marks in the rotation, which could be solved with a proven veteran like Bumgarner.

The White Sox are further from contention, but Bumgarner could be a leader for a young but talented rotation.

These squads could help drive up the price for what could be a busy bidding war for the pitcher.

The San Francisco Giants have entered the Nick Castellanos sweepstakes, according to MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi.

Morosi added the Chicago Cubs remain hopeful of reuniting with the 27-year-old.

Giants general manager Scott Harris worked with Castellanos over the second half of the 2019 season, having served as the Chicago Cubs' assistant GM.

San Francisco non-tendered Kevin Pillar on Monday, which made him a free agent. While Castellanos has never played in center field, his arrival would give the Giants the everyday outfielder they lost by parting ways with Pillar.

Morosi also noted Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson and Steven Duggar, who projected as the team's starting outfield, all bat left-handed, so Castellanos would bring a little more offensive balance.

Castellanos was putting up solid numbers for the Detroit Tigers to open this past season (11 home runs, 37 RBI, .462 slugging percentage) but expressed frustration about how Comerica Park's dimensions were adversely impacting his production.

Based on his improvement in Chicago, it's hard to argue with the assessment. He had 16 homers, 36 RBI and a .646 slugging percentage in 51 games with the Cubs.

Signing with the Giants might lead to the same problems Castellanos experienced in Detroit, though. In ESPN.com's park factors, Oracle Park was last in runs and home runs.

Letting Pillar go was a surprising move by San Francisco because he's a solid defender who set career highs in home runs (21) and RBI (88). But turning around and signing Castellanos would show the Giants are still looking to improve following a third-place finish in the National League West.

Teams looking for veteran outfielders on the free-agency market this offseason will reportedly have another option.

On Monday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reported the San Francisco Giants non-tendered Kevin Pillar, making him a free agent. Pavlovic noted the National League West team is looking toward a youth movement in the outfield, meaning the 30-year-old no longer fits the bill.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle noted Pillar was projected to make approximately $10 million in 2020, which would have been his last year of arbitration before he became a free agent prior to this move.

Pillar wasn't a Giant for long.

The team traded for him in April after he spent the first six full seasons of his career on the Toronto Blue Jays, and he appeared in 156 games for the team. He slashed .264/.293/.442 with 21 home runs and 87 RBI in those games, setting career-high totals in the last two categories.

The power boost helped account for his declining defense in the spacious outfield at Oracle Park.

It wasn't that long ago he was considered one of the best defensive outfielders in the league, as evidenced by the 58 defensive runs saved he was responsible for from 2015 through 2017, per FanGraphs. However, he posted a minus-two DRS number in 2018 and minus-five in 2019.

The power numbers will surely appeal to teams looking to add another bat to their lineup, but San Francisco's reported desire to get younger and Pillar's declining fielding numbers means his days with the Giants are over.

The San Francisco Giants are going from one of the most distinguished, respected managers in recent memory to one with plenty of baggage and seemingly little to justify any team's desire to live with it.

On Monday night, the Giants officially announced their hiring of Gabe Kapler as the successor to recently retired skipper Bruce Bochy:

It’s official! Please join us in welcoming our new Manager, Gabe Kapler.#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/YWQWUqp4JP

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) November 13, 2019

Bochy spent the last 13 seasons of his 25-year managerial career with the Giants, and all he did in that span was guide them to four postseasons and three World Series championships.

Even in the lean years, Bochy was a steady, cool-headed leader in the clubhouse and dugout. There are also good reasons few, if any, media members have anything negative to say about him. One way or another, he's bound to end up in Cooperstown as a member of baseball's Hall of Fame.

Now here comes Kapler, who brings two unspectacular seasons as a major league manager and one notable blight on his reputation.

Kapler seemed like an inspired choice when the Philadelphia Phillies hired him as their manager in October 2017. His 12 years of playing experience and rare persona as a muscleman with a sabermetrician's mind helped counterbalance his sparse coaching resume. So, perhaps it's no wonder that the most pointed question of his introductory press conference in Philadelphia merely related to his unusual fondness for coconut oil.

Yet Kapler embarked on a gaffe-addled voyage that saw him rack up a 161-163 record, prompting the Phillies to sack him in October. To this end, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi could only reason that the 44-year-old's worst days are behind him.

"I think what we've seen with managers is that there's a learning curve," Zaidi said, according to Maria Guardado of MLB.com. "A lot of times guys do better and have more traction their second time around because of the lessons that they've learned."

However, Kapler's performance in Philadelphia accounts for just one reason his hiring isn't going over so well—see here, here and here—in the Bay Area.

There's also the matter of what the Washington Post and Sports Illustrated reported in February regarding Kapler's response to sexual misconduct allegations against Los Angeles Dodgers minor leaguers, who he oversaw as the club's director of player development, in 2015.

In February of that year, after a 17-year-old girl said she had been physically assaulted at the Glendale, Arizona, Hampton Inn & Suites, the Dodgers' spring training team hotel, Kapler didn't report the allegation to police and attempted to arrange a meeting between the girl and players on his own, per Sports Illustrated.

The girl later told police she had also been sexually assaulted by a Dodgers player. Eight months later, after Kapler was notified of an allegation of sexual assault against another Dodgers player at the same hotel, according to SI, he had "a conversation" with players in the organization but did not report the allegation to police.

In the spring of 2016, "multiple players, including a top prospect, were confronting female guests and, as one source familiar with the video characterized it to SI, 'stalking … and behaving strangely,'" at the same Glendale hotel.

Kapler reported none of this to MLB.

It suffices to say he could have and should have had a stronger response.

Zaidi, who was the Dodgers' general manager at the time, couldn't defend what happened. He could only promise it won't happen again.

"We had the opportunity to talk to people in the community and talk to experts to try to learn and understand what we did and what we did wrong," he said, per Guardado. "As I've had time to reflect on it, I realized the biggest mistake we made was asking the wrong question. In those situations, we asked, 'What do we have to do?' instead of, 'What is the right thing to do?'"

On the field, when looking at what the Giants have going for them, fixing the club won't be easy.

The 2019 season was the Giants' third straight with a losing record, and free agency has since claimed their two best pitchers: longtime ace Madison Bumgarner and All-Star closer Will Smith.

What's left is a combination of moderately exciting newcomers (Mike Yastrzemski, Mauricio Dubon and Tyler Beede) and veterans who are firmly past their primes (Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto). As constructed, the Giants might be the worst team in the National League West.

By contrast, the Phillies were ready to force their way out of a rebuild when they hired Kapler. They sought to do so by investing hundreds of millions in stars such as Bryce Harper, Jake Arrieta, Carlos Santana, Andrew McCutchen and David Robertson, as well as by making trades for J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura. It therefore wasn't for a lack of weapons that Kapler underachieved in Philadelphia.

Given how much payroll space they have to work with, the Giants might pursue their own free-agent bonanza to ensure Kapler has what he needs. But while some free agents might be scared off by the cost of living in San Francisco, others might not want to board a sunken ship in hopes that it will soon rise.

After all, it's not just the Giants' major league roster that invites skepticism. Their farm system only ranks in the middle of MLB. Sans any shiny trade chips to cash in, they can only hope to build it up through future drafts and international signing windows.

Kapler's true role in San Francisco may be as a player in a long game as the Giants seek to build a contender from within. This might suit him well, given his background of working with young players—but only if he applies the lessons he learned from his missteps first with the Dodgers and later with the Phillies, who reportedly didn't have the most harmonious clubhouse under Kapler.

If there's a charitable reading of Kapler's hiring, it's that it may not have happened simply because Zaidi wanted a stooge. Though Kapler will take cues from the front office—a fundamental aspect of every modern manager's job—Zaidi also consulted two noted Giants dignitaries in his search:

Farhan Zaidi, on @KNBR, said Bruce Bochy met with all of the managerial candidates, including Gabe Kapler. Said they talked a lot about how you can be better the second time you become a manager. A lot of the candidates also met with Buster Posey.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) November 13, 2019

Yet when all the relevant factors are tallied, it's fair to wonder if the Giants might have found a more qualified or simply one without Kapler's history to be their new manager. At least until the wins start piling up, all they've done is step into a quagmire of their own making.

If they sink into it, it'll be a while before they stop hearing "told ya so."

                 

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.

The San Francisco Giants announced Tuesday that ex-Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler has replaced Bruce Bochy as the team's newest skipper.

Bochy had served as the team's manager since 2007 and won three World Series during his 13 years with the organization before retiring at the end of the 2019 season. He earned more than 1,000 wins with the team, leaving some big shoes for Kapler to fill.

Additionally, the Giants have only had three total managers since the start of the 1993 season, so this type of change isn't common.

That could put a lot of pressure on Kapler, especially after three straight disappointing seasons for San Francisco.

The squad last reached the playoffs in 2016 but has averaged just 71 wins over the past three years with barely a hint of postseason contention. The team was in the wild-card hunt for part of this past season but finished just 14-24 over the last month and a half to end up 12 games out.

With Madison Bumgarner set to hit free agency and a lot of money tied up with aging players, there will be plenty of question marks throughout the offseason.

However, the team feels Kapler is the right man to lead the Giants into the next era.

The search began with some longtime internal candidates in Hensley Meulens and Ron Wotus, each of whom had spent more than a decade in San Francisco. But the club went in another direction.

Kapler was often criticized as manager of the Phillies but helped the team to a .500 record last season and was 161-163 overall in his two seasons. The 44-year-old should be able to learn from his mistakes as he takes on his next role.

Adding in 12 years in the majors as a player, he has all the tools necessary to be successful.

The San Francisco Giants have hired Scott Harris as their general manager, the team announced Sunday.

Harris spent the 2019 MLB season as an assistant GM for the Chicago Cubs.

Scott Harris has long been seen as a future GM. He was an integral part of the Chicago Cubs’ rise and comes with the highest recommendations from Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. Skills-wise, he should be an excellent complement to Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 10, 2019

The Giants haven't formally had a general manager since firing Bobby Evans in September 2018. They hired Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations in November 2018.

"We're thrilled to be able to bring in an executive of Scott's caliber to help lead our Baseball Operations group," Zaidi said in the team's press release. "The combination of his breadth of experience, contributions towards building a championship-winning perennial contender in Chicago, and his Bay Area roots made him an idea fit for our General Manager position and I'm looking forward to executing our vision together."

Harris is a native of Redwood City, California.

Theo Epstein, the Cubs' president of baseball operations, praised Harris' work in a March 2018 interview with The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma:

"He's really bright and a really hard worker. He has a strong, well-rounded executive background. But you wouldn’t know by hanging around him. He's not one of these guys telling you where he got his degree, that he went to business school, that he worked in the commissioner's office, that he knows the rules better than you. He's really easy to get along with, people like being around him and he just makes the group better by being a great team player."

The Giants went 77-85 and finished third in the National League West in 2019.

They'll now focus their efforts on finding a replacement for manager Bruce Bochy, who retired upon the conclusion of the season.

The San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea reported San Francisco had narrowed its search to former Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro.