Possible Offseason Targets for the San Francisco Giants: Bryan Shaw

Through the month of October we’ll look at several different targets this offseason that the San Francisco Giants could possibly pursue.

We continue our list with relief pitcher Bryan Shaw.

You have to think the San Francisco Giants are going to at least try to add a veteran in the bullpen. They did that last offseason, but obviously they need more.

The Giants had the 19th best bullpen ERA in baseball at 4.34. They also only struck out 458 batters in 493.1 innings pitched.

There is definitely still a concern in this bullpen, and Shaw could help fix the problem.

He’s been a workhouse out of the Cleveland Indians bullpen for years now. He’s pitched in at least 70 games for the past five years, and his ERA has been 3.59 or lower in all five years.

The only thing that concerns me with Shaw is his work load. He’s thrown at lest 64 innings in the past five years, and his ERA has gone up the past two years.

In 2016 he had a 3.24 ERA in 66.2 innings, and then in 2017 he had a 3.52 ERA in 76.2 innings pitched.

On top of that, he’s pitched a lot in the postseason the past two years.

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Last year he threw 10.1 innings as he helped the Indians reach the World Series. In just three games this postseason he threw 6 innings.

Overall he’s been great in the postseason with a 2.45 ERA in 22 innings.

In what I’ve seen from relief pitchers through my years of watching baseball is that they have a very short shelf life. There aren’t too many relief pitchers that can dominate for a decade.

That’s why I’m worried that Shaw could be at the end of his shelf life, and he could be looking for a big pay day.

Spotrac.com has his current market value at $6,287,775. That’s not an outrageous amount for a soon to be 30-year-old relief pitcher with the numbers Shaw has.

The biggest question would be the amount of years he’s looking for. I’m OK with giving Shaw that kind of money on a two year deal, but anything beyond that would be questionable.

Next: Possible Offseason Targets for the San Francisco Giants: J.D. Martinez

If the San Francisco Giants are going to try to upgrade the bullpen through free agency, Shaw might be their best fit.