San Francisco Giants 2019 Spring Training Preview: Relief Pitchers

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 28: Manager Bruce Bochy #15 of the San Francisco Giants takes the ball from pitcher Reyes Moronta #54 taking Moronta out of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the top of the seventh inning of game two of a double header at AT&T Park on April 28, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Pitchers and catchers are starting to report to Spring Training for the San Francisco Giants. This is not a drill. Baseball is just around the corner. This is exciting.

I know the San Francisco Giants universe has been abuzz the last few days with all of the Bryce Harper rumors swirling around, but let’s not lose sight of the guys that actually are on the team. We at Around the Foghorn decided to take a look at each position group and try to preview what we might be able to expect from each group heading into the 2019 season. I was at work while everyone was staking claim to the groups they wanted to write about so I ended up getting stuck with the relievers. Hooray.

The Giants relief core is going to look relatively the same as it did last year. Which, may not necessarily be a good thing. Many fans pointed to the league leading 30 blown saves, but don’t mention that they were tied for 8th in the league in save opportunities with 66. They were the only team in the top 10 for save opportunities with at sub .500 record. The Giants bullpen was consistently thrown into tight situations without much hope of the offense bailing them out or extending leads. Overall, the bullpen was slightly above average by most measures and if they had a little more breathing room, it’s possible they might have fared better.

With many familiar faces returning to the 2019 San Francisco Giants bullpen, there is reason to believe the Giants bullpen can repeat their output from the 2018 season. But once again the Giants bullpen will be dependent on their offense to make their lives a little easier. The Giants are still looking into ways to bolster their offense, which could have major implications on how their bullpen performs. If the Giants enter the 2018 season with the current offensive personnel, the bullpen could look forward to another average season. Although, another year of slightly above average production is not a given as the group as a whole is still pretty suspect and going into 2019 none of the bullpen pitchers have clearly defined roles. Some of them might even be opening games this year, so who knows what’s going on anymore? I don’t. I guess first we’ll take a look at those familiar faces I was talking about.

The Incumbents

Will Smith

Will Smith will be returning to the fold in 2019 after finishing the 2018 season as the Giants closer. He converted 14 of 18 save opportunities after returning from Tommy John surgery and posted a 2.55 ERA with a 12.06 K/9. On the other hand Smith posted a 3.34 DRA which would indicate he was not that great, but his 74.6 DRA- was still excellent. Smith pitched well in the closers role last year, but it has been reported that Bruce Bochy is going to hold off on naming a closer until further evaluation.

The major storyline regarding Will Smith this season will be: how long is he going to be on the team? Who knows? Smith has been the focus of a lot of rumors this off-season and if he makes it through spring training on the roster, the rumors will follow him throughout the season. It seems inevitable at this point that Smith will be dealt, so it seems the Giants are destined to see the end of a Willenium in 2019.

Tony Watson

Tony Watson was also excellent last season as he posted a 2.59 ERA with a 3.31 DRA and a DRA- of 74. It was not as dominant of a season as he had from 2013-2015, but it was a return to form after a rough start to his 2017 season inflated his overall numbers.

Like Smith, Watson will also be dogged by trade rumors until he is eventually shipped off. So don’t get too attached.

Sam Dyson

Sam Dyson is still on the team and he is okay.

Mark Melancon

Mark Melancon will be returning much to the chagrin of a majority of Giants fans. The oft-injured Melancon does have another opportunity to change the narrative of his time in San Francisco if he can have a strong bounce back season. His long, expensive, and seemingly unmovable contract has evoked much ire amongst Giants fans, but the Giants haven’t been able to do a bad contract swap with anyone to this point, so Melancon will be in Orange and Black for the time being.

On a positive note, Melancon is said to be in good health and throwing the ball well. He also seems to be the front-runner to take on the role of opening day closer if those reports are backed up by a solid spring effort. The best hope with Melancon at this point is he pitches well and retains some of his value, so he can waive his no trade clause and be sent off to a competing team in need of bullpen help down the stretch. If that is the case his performance will also determine how much of his contract the Giants will have to eat in order to get a decent return for him. It is a messy situation now, but it can be cleaned up with a solid 2019 campaign.

Reyes Moronta

I like this guy. Reyes Moronta was the surprise bullpen arm of the season for the Giants. He posted a solid line, solid metrics and was just fun to watch. Something about a portly flame thrower really gets me going. Moronta emerged as a somewhat reliable late inning option for the Giants and could potentially emerge as a dark horse candidate for the closers role in 2019. He has the stuff, but control has been an issue for him at times. Either way, if he can back up his 2018 output with a 2019 it would be a real shot in the arm for the bullpen. Also, my dad really likes the fact that you can’t spell his name without the phrase, “moron”. Classic dad.

The Challengers

Ray Black

Ray Black throws really hard. Ray Black also throws really good secondary pitches. If Ray Black can put it all together with some command he can be a very good back-end of the bullpen arm. As of right now, he is entering 2019 and his age 29 season as the oldest work in progress in the majors.

Steven Okert

Uh. It looks like Steven Okert is going to wear number 32 this year.

Pat Venditte

Pat Venditte was one of Farhan Zaidi’s first acquisitions of the offseason. Pat Venditte is most famous for being ambidextrous and being the only switch pitcher in the bigs. Although he pitches with both hands, he hasn’t pitched particularly well with either hand. He did have the best season of his career in 2018, but it was a very small sample size as he appeared in only 15 games. If he picks up where he left off last season, there’s no question he can be a huge asset to the bullpen, but that is a big if considering his career numbers and the amount of maintenance that goes into keeping up two throwing motions.

Trevor Gott

The Giants recently acquire Trevor Gott from the Washington Nationals and I GOTTA say, this guy has a big arm. If he can get it together he can be a sort of Blake Treinen light, but he has been inconsistent at the Major League level and has pretty stiff competition to crack a pretty deep bullpen.

PHOENIX, AZ – SEPTEMBER 25: Jake Barrett #33 of the Arizona Diamondbacks throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning of a MLB game at Chase Field on September 25, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Giants defeated the Diamondbacks 9-2. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images) /

The Longshots

Travis Bergen

The Giants selected Travis Bergen in the Rule 5 draft from the Toronto Blue Jays and he could be one of those “out of nowhere” Giants finds. One thing that people rave about with Bergen is his ability to compete against righties and his exceptional spin rate on his curveball. Obviously his ability to pitch against RHH will be a huge boost to his prospects of making the Major League team as he can slot in as more than a situational lefty. Also, with the uncertain future of Will Smith and Tony Watson, Bergen can emerge as an heir apparent with a strong spring.

Jake Barrett

The Giants picked up Jake Barrett recently from the Arizona Diamondback Organization and I hate his facial hair in his profile picture. Come on!

Next.

Prediction: The Giants have a history of putting together solid bullpens. The real challenge this year will be how all the relievers who may be openers and all the starters who may relieve openers handle these new roles. It will be a year of experimentation and being flexible is something that is not always easy to find in a traditionally rigid game. Another challenge will be how the Giants maintain chemistry once players start to get traded as it is highly doubtful that the bullpen on opening day will be the same as it is on August 1st. My hope is that the Giants bullpen pitches great and plays well above expectations so they become more attractive trade targets that can net some much needed positional depth.

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Pitchers and catchers are starting to report to Spring Training for the San Francisco Giants. This is not a drill. Baseball is just around the corner. This is exciting.

The Challengers

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