Evaluating the San Francisco Giants roster and upcoming free agency

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 13: Pitcher Reyes Moronta #54 of the San Francisco Giants reacts after he strikes out three batters in a row against the Colorado Rockies to end the top of the eighth inning of a Major League Baseball game at Oracle Park on April 13, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Relief Pitchers

The relief corps has given fans and Bruce Bochy quite the ride in 2019. It was the biggest strength of the team throughout the first half of the season, and it allowed the front office to deal from a position of depth when they shipped out Sam Dyson, Drew Pomeranz, Mark Melancon, and Derek Holland at the deadline.

Just by ridding themselves of the Melancon and Pomeranz contracts while receiving talent in return speaks volumes to Farhan Zaidi’s abilities.

Along with those deadline trades, Will Smith and Tony Watson are both headed for free agency this offseason, leaving Reyes Moronta as arguably the top option left in the bullpen heading into next year.

The caveat with any bullpen analysis is the inherently small sample size, but I think we can safely expect for there to be a fair amount of bullpen turnover this offseason. The Giants still have plenty of depth in the minors, and one or two of the aforementioned young starters will likely end up as relievers as well.

Moronta and Trevor Gott, who are each controllable through the 2023 season, would appear to be locked into two spots in the bullpen. The rest are up for grabs.

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Sam Coonrod has been impressive through 18.2 innings pitched with a 2.41 ERA, but he will need to work on improving his strikeout and walk numbers to show that it’s not a fluke with 5.3 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9 en route to a 5.19 FIP.

Fellow rookie righty Jandel Gustave has also been a quality weapon with the underlying numbers supporting his production in the form of a 2.91 FIP backing a 2.51 ERA. He has yet to give up a home run, but is only striking out five batters per nine innings.

The next month will be very important to see how the league adjusts to these guys and how they adjust in turn.

In terms of other potential contributors in the system already, submariner Tyler Rogers just debuted on Tuesday and didn’t allow a baserunner. Sam Selman, Williams Jerez, Burch Smith, and Melvin Adon are other relievers currently on the 40-man roster who we could potentially see in September as well.

In terms of free agents, the Giants will certainly need at least one lefty reliever and they could push for a reunion with Smith or Watson. Jake Diekman and Tony Cingrani are two lower-cost southpaws who should be available as well in a muted market.

For right-handed relievers, there are many more options. Arodys Vizcaino, Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler, and Hector Rondon all seem like viable targets that could be had on one-year deals.

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So there you have it, a broad overview of the current makeup of the San Francisco Giants roster, and who they might wind up pursuing in free agency.