SF Giants GM’s comments on dreadful bullpen could not have come at a worse time

If one were to poll SF Giants fans on the team’s biggest problem this season, odds are most would say pitching. If you asked them to be more specific, they’d almost resoundingly say “the bullpen.” That’s why general manager Zack Minasian’s latest comments about the bullpen are so laughable.

He went on KNBR recently and said: “The ninth inning obviously has been a huge issue, but our bullpen ERA when you take out the ninth inning is sixth in baseball.”

Fans were quick to jump all over that especially since those comments came a day after the Giants blew a six-run lead in the ninth inning for the first time in the history of the franchise.

The ninth inning is pretty darn important. Mike Krukow has often said that the last three outs of a game are often the hardest to get because the pressure is amped up and the tension is raised. If a team doesn’t have a guy it can trust to shut the game down then they are in trouble and that’s a big part of why the Giants have struggled so much this year.

To be fair to Minasian, he did make it clear the team is not satisfied with the results in the ninth inning this year. He made sure to praise the talent currently in the bullpen and highlighted guys like Dylan Smith while also saying the front office is not content with the current state of affairs.

Giants still may not undertake a total bullpen remodel

Still, there’s a decent chance we see a lot of the same guys in the bullpen next year. While fans may want a complete bullpen remodel, the Giants have made it clear they are not all that interested in splurging on relievers and one really cannot blame them.

Oftentimes those big contracts to closers end up looking pretty bad but that means the Giants have to get creative in other ways to add some fresh blood to the bullpen. They should be watching the waiver wire like a hawk or maybe try to get creative with some trades to try and find some diamonds in the rough the way they did with Smith.

Of course, one might wonder whether Minasian will be around to make those decisions if he ends up getting fired after the season. He might end up being the fall guy in the front office after this year which may not be entirely fair, but seasons like this often lead to personnel changes.

His comments just came at basically the worst time given the current state of the team and the bullpen, and one can only hope the Giants will fix it next year but this may be a multi-year bullpen rebuild.

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