San Francisco Giants: Three veteran starters worth looking at

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 1: Anibal Sanchez #19 of the Detroit Tigers pitches against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning during their baseball game on October 1, 2017, at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota.(Photo by Andy King/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 1: Anibal Sanchez #19 of the Detroit Tigers pitches against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning during their baseball game on October 1, 2017, at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota.(Photo by Andy King/Getty Images)

The San Francisco Giants are looking for some experienced arms to help to acquire on minor league deals, in an attempt to provide good competition for the younger arms that are vying for a spot at the back end of the rotation. Here are some arms who can help.

The San Francisco Giants are on the lookout for some veteran starters to help provide competition for the young guys in spring training. According to Alex Pavlovic, the Giants want to give some outside competition to the four guys within the system that are vying for two spots at the end of the Giants rotation.  Those four have a combined 36 big league starts between them, all of those coming from two players.

We all have seen Ty Blach and Chris Stratton. We’ve all heard about Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez. But the Giants aren’t entirely convinced of those four. That’s ok. In the past, the Giants have filled out the bottom of their rotation with strong veteran starters like Tim Hudson and Jake Peavy. Going with the young blood is a bit of a departure, but an ode to how they carried themselves in 2010 and beyond with their rotation. Still, the idea of a veteran or two on minor league deals to help provide competition for the young and unproven guys, is a smart one.

So here are a few guys that would be more than willing to give it a go on a minor league deal, and the Giants should at least give them a shot.

Jeff Locke

Locke had a really hard time in Miami and just hasn’t been the same since his 2013 All-Star campaign. If he can get his stuff together, he does have the ability to get the job done. There is likely no team that’s willing to take him on a guaranteed deal, so a minor league deal with a spring training invite might be worth it

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    • Nolasco’s numbers would’ve been serviceable compared to what Matt Moore did last year. There is still a chance someone takes him on a dirt cheap big league deal, but the Giants might be able to snag him on a minor league deal with a Spring invite. He’s got a lot of experience, and would be an OK back end guy.
  • Anibal Sanchez
    • Sanchez has significantly declined over the last few years, but has plenty of experience and would likely be in a better overall situation than whatever is going on up in Detroit. He may have one last push in him, and it could be well worth it.
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    The Giants could take at least one of these, if not more on minor league deals just to help provide some help for the back end of the rotation. Of course none are as lucrative an idea as acquiring Jake Peavy or Tim Hudson. None have that type of background, but plenty of them have had some type of decent contribution in the past. If that’s what happens, then the Giants would be wise to add