3 emergency deals SF Giants can make after Corbin Burnes joins NL West rival

The SF Giants have lost out on the Corbin Burnes sweepstakes. After weeks of speculation and a sense that the Giants were the favorites to land Burnes, he has reportedly agreed to a massive deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports the deal is for six years and is worth $210 million. If the deal goes through, the Giants will now have to face two of the prize free agent starters going into this offseason with regularity the next few seasons. There was a sense the Giants could reunite with left-handed ace Blake Snell after he pitched well for the team in the second half of 2024, but he defected to the Dodgers. Now Burnes, arguably the best starter available in free agency, will be in the NL West as well.

The Giants could definitely use another starting pitcher in their rotation. While Logan Webb is a bonafide ace atop the rotation, things after that are much more dicey. Robbie Ray can be solid when he is healthy but his health is a question mark. Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, and Hayden Birdsong have all shown potential, but none has demonstrated they are capable of being a reliable starter for a full season.

Here are three emergency free agent options the Giants can pursue as they try to add to their rotation after the reported Burnes deal.

Roki Sasaki

Arguably the best pitcher on the free agent market now becomes Roki Sasaki. The Japanese phenom has yet to pitch in Major League Baseball, but he has incredible stuff and is only 23 years old so he has a ton of upside. He has a career ERA of 2.02 in Japan and has averaged over 11 strikeouts per nine innings in his career. He will not cost a ton of money given teams can only use their international bonus pool money to sign him, but the Giants will face stiff competition from the Dodgers and San Diego Padres. Nonetheless, signing Sasaki would make missing out on Burnes hurt much less.

Jack Flaherty

After the Dodgers poached Blake Snell from the Giants, it would only be fitting that the Giants did the same to Jack Flaherty. The 29 year old sported a 3.17 ERA with the Detroit Tigers and Dodgers last year and helped Los Angeles win the World Series. He will be more affordable compared to the contracts handed out to Burnes, Snell, and Max Fried. Most estimates have him landing a three-year deal in the $60-75 million range. That could make sense for the Giants and would give them a solid number two starter in the rotation behind Webb.

Justin Verlander

Even though he is 42 years old, Justin Verlander could still have something left in the tank. The future Hall of Famer struggled to the tune of a 5.48 ERA last season, but in 2023 he had a 3.22 ERA and in 2022 he had a 1.75 ERA and won the Cy Young Award for the American League. The key concern with Verlander is injury, but with a young pitching staff it could be invaluable to have a guy like Verlander there to act as a mentor figure to pitchers like Birdsong or Hicks and could pay dividends later on.

Missing out on Burnes definitely hurts for the Giants, but if they can pivot and sign one of these options they can at least feel a little better about their rotation heading into 2025.