Giants add Trevor Cahill to intriguing mix of veteran starters

Drew Smyly

It’s not hard to see why manager Gabe Kapler views Drew Smyly as a starter.

After a rocky start to the season with the Texas Rangers that included an 8.42 ERA in 41.1 innings, Smyly caught on with the Phillies where Kapler was his manager.

He wound up posting a 4.45 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 62.2 innings over 12 starts with the Phillies to close out the year, making him an intriguing bounce-back candidate on the free-agent market.

That solid run with the Phillies included a stellar outing against the Giants where he tossed seven scoreless innings in one of his best starts of the year.

In a right-handed heavy rotation, Smyly would at least add one lefty to the mix.

He doesn’t have a proven track record as a reliever like Gausman, but if things go south, the Giants could certainly see if he has anything to offer as a reliever.

For now, Gausman and Smyly appear to be securely locked into rotation spots.