San Francisco Giants: How the second-half bullpen audition impacts 2020

Lastly, Fernando Abad, Wandy Peralta, and Sam Selman could be with another organization next season.

Abad has struggled to the tune of 4.50 ERA in 12 frames across 20 appearances. Bochy has been using the veteran southpaw in a situational role against left-handed hitters, and the results have been mixed. Regardless, the situational lefty role is one that will not exist next season as pitchers will be required to face a minimum of three hitters.

Abad still flashes a 93 mph fastball, but he has been barreled-up a little too frequently. Given his veteran status, Abad can elect to become a free agent at the end of this season. It seems likely that he is auditioning for a future team at this point.

Peralta is an intriguing left-handed reliever since he is capable of consistently throwing a mid-90’s fastball. Despite that, he has had trouble with command and keeping the ball in the ballpark for much of his career.

He has been used so infrequently this month that it seems like a foregone conclusion that he will not be kept beyond this season. Similar to Abad, he has been used as a situational lefty, giving up two earned runs in 3.1 innings spanning six appearances.

Lastly, Selman has not been able to effectively make the jump to the majors. The left-handed reliever excelled at Triple-A where he struck out 81 batters in 48 innings, but he has not found the same kind of success with the big club.

In only seven innings, Selman has posted a 6.43 ERA and yielded two home runs. That includes seven strikeouts against five walks. Command has plagued Selman for much of his career before this season, but he seemed to have turned the corner since joining the Giants organization.

Selman’s Triple-A stats from this season may be enough for him to be retained. However, Zaidi tends to be aggressive in player movement, and it is possible Selman could be joining a new organization next season.

With all this being said, many of the judgments are made on extremely small samples, which can be misleading. Zaidi will want to keep open a handful of 40-man roster spots this offseason to give him some flexibility.

The San Francisco Giants are looking to build a better bullpen, and have found a few arms who should make the Opening Day roster next season. Since this has effectively become an audition, not every reliever will be retained. So, don’t get too comfortable seeing some of these relievers in a Giants uniform. It may only be for a short time.