3 potential non-tender candidates for the SF Giants

3 potential non-tender candidates for the SF Giants

2. Jharel Cotton

Jharel Cotton did not perform poorly in his brief time with the Giants. Of course, one bad outing can really distort the numbers and that is what happened with the veteran reliever.

The Giants acquired Cotton as a waiver claim from the Minnesota Twins at the end of the season. He had cleared waivers three times in 2022, but the Giants prevented him from clearing a fourth time. Oddly enough, the veteran chose to remain with the Twins organization after each time he cleared.

His overall numbers were not bad at all. In 30 appearances split between the Giants and the Twins, the 30-year-old registered a 3.56 ERA, 4.95 FIP, 1.25 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, and a 1.95 SO/W ratio. This included six earned runs on 11 hits, eight strikeouts, and four walks in five appearances with the Giants down the stretch.

He had one rough outing where he allowed four earned runs in 0.2 frames in a 6-2 loss against the San Diego Padres in the final series of the season. However, that is all that the Giants have to evaluate him and it is probably not enough to tender him a deal for 2023.

MLB Trade Rumors is projecting him to earn $1.1 million through arbitration, which is certainly affordable but the front office should be able to find better value elsewhere. I would not rule out a return on a minor-league deal.