SF Giants: Three ways the bullpen will improve without a trade

The SF Giants are happy to have the best record in Major League Baseball. However, as successful as the team has been through the first two months of the regular season, many fans still feel like they have let too many wins slip away. With just a 2.5 game lead over the San Diego Padres for the top spot in the National League West, it’s easy to feel like the divisional race is tighter than it should be. An erratic bullpen, of course, has been the Giants leading cause of frustration.

Three ways the SF Giants bullpen will improve
1. Tyler Beede, Logan Webb, and Aaron Sanchez returning from injury

While Tyler Beede, Logan Webb, and Aaron Sanchez have all started for the Giants, each one could have a positive impact on the team’s pen. Obviously, with Kevin Gausman, Johnny Cueto, Alex Wood, and Anthony DeSclafani firmly entrenched in the rotation, there will not be room for all three pitchers barring a couple of injuries. With that said, there’s a case for all three to receive an opportunity to relieve.

Webb, Sanchez, and Beede all have had major arm injuries, struggled with inconsistent control, and rarely amassed substantial amounts of innings in a season. All three could thrive in shorter outings. Sanchez and Webb have each held their own as starters for the Giants in 2021, but after each ended up on the injured list, the front office could hope to limit their workloads in a different role.

Beede and Webb each have minor league options remaining, which means their returns from injury could give the front office more ways to maximize the pitching staff. Even if all three return to starting every fifth day, the improved starting pitching depth could enable others to take on bullpen roles.

Recently promoted pitching prospect Sam Long has been dominant between Double-A and Triple-A, striking out 44% of opposing batters. However, the 25-year-old southpaw has been limited to 55-60 pitches an outing. It seems clear that the Giants do not plan to stretch Long out very far this season, perhaps with an eye on converting him into a high-leverage relief role down the line, when the return of players like Beede, Webb, and Sanchez give them the flexibility to do so.

Three ways the SF Giants bullpen will improve
3. Taking advantage of their upper minor-league depth

The Giants may not have made any high-end signings this offseason, but they made sure to improve their depth in the upper minor leagues. Nowhere was that more obvious than in the bullpen. The Giants signed several relievers with big-league experience to minor league contracts and three (Nick Tropeano, Zack Littell, and Dominic Leone) have already made their way to the big-league roster. In fact, Littell has emerged as one of the team’s top setup options.

However, the Giants have far from emptied their coffers. Tropeano and Leone were easily the most experienced options at Triple-A, but Trevor Gott and Silvino Bracho have track records of MLB success as well. Several other relievers at Sacramento have made their respective big-league debuts while others have performed well throughout the minor leagues. Regardless of how confident the Giants are in any one player, they have several viable options to turn to if they need to dive further down their depth chart.

Another recent Giants transaction fell under the radar and should impact the pen soon. The Giants added right-handed pitcher Jimmie Sherfy to the 40-man roster. He had been on the injured list at Sacramento and remains on the 10-day IL. Drafted and developed by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sherfy had previously made 43 appearances, struck out 48, walked 17, and recorded a 2.98 ERA (3.82 FIP).

After struggling mightily in 2020, Sherfy was forced to settle for a minor league deal this offseason. It likely included an opt-out if he was not on the 40-man roster by a certain date, which probably prompted the roster move. Sherfy led all Giants relievers in strikeouts during spring training and picked up where he left off when he was assigned to Triple-A. In six games at Sacramento, Sherfy struck out 11, walked one, surrendered three hits, and allowed zero runs over 7.2 innings before he landed on the IL. Little has been reported about Sherfy’s injury, but the Giants are clearly confident enough in his recovery to place him on the 40-man roster. Fans should expect to see him at Oracle Park soon.

The SF Giants may need to upgrade their bullpen at the MLB trade deadline to make a legitimate postseason run. Yet the organization has reason to be cautiously optimistic that things will improve internally. As numerous players return from injury and others separate themselves in the upper minor leagues, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi could see his problematic bullpen improve without any acquisitions.