SF Giants Rumor: Continued Interest in All-Star Pitcher

A 2019 American League All-Star pitcher and current free agent continue to draw interest from several teams including the SF Giants.

According to Jon Morosi, the SF Giants continue to monitor the Jake Odorizzi market. The Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Boston Red Sox are among the other interest teams.

Of course, this is not the first time the Giants have been connected to Odorizzi this offseason. Their interest was originally reported two months ago, but they have added staters Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani, and Alex Wood since then. Furthermore, Johnny Cueto and Logan Webb will likely round the final two spots in the rotation.

With that being said, San Francisco still needs to add rotation depth. Behind the names listed above, the Giants are very thin on established starters and are likely still in the market for multiple veteran arms.

However, adding Odorizzi would qualify as more than just a depth move given his track record of reliability and durability. In nine seasons, the right-handed hurler has registered a 62-56 record, 3.92 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 1.24 WHIP, and a 2.78 SO/W ratio.

Despite this, the 2020 campaign was a forgettable one for the veteran starter as he battled a blister issue and bruised ribs. He was limited to just four starts where he posted a 6.59 ERA across 13.2 innings.

This was not the last impression he wanted to leave before hitting the market, but his market continues to be strong. Given the number of interested suitors, Odorizzi will likely be able to leverage this into a multi-year contract.

Since Farhan Zaidi has taken over as the Giants president of baseball operations, he has not handed out a multi-year deal to a starter pitcher, so adding the 30-year-old would seemingly push the front office into uncharted territory.

The Giants seem content to wait out the market so that they can reel in a pitcher on their own terms. The interest in Odorizzi is not surprising, but the righty’s asking price would need to come down before the Giants are considered a legitimate candidate.

Nevertheless, this rumor shows that San Francisco still has interest in bolstering the rotation. It may not be a high-profile name such as Odorizzi, but they recognize that depth remains in issue and are looking at ways to fix this.