Tony Vitello hints that SF Giants may make long overdue change with struggling starter

The San Francisco Giants have gotten a lot less out of their roster as a whole than they would have liked, and two of their biggest problem players haven’t been talked about nearly as much as the likes of Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman or Willy Adames. Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser, the two starting pitchers the Giants acquired over the offseason, have both been abysmal additions to the organization. Now that Logan Webb is very near to rejoining the MLB team, it appears one of those two may lose their spot in favor of Webb.

Losers of eight of their last ten and sporting the second-worst run differential in the National League, the seat has been getting hot for Tony Vitello. Vitello, who always leaves a few eyebrow-raising quotes in his interviews with the media, was again questioned by the media in the dugout Wednesday morning. One of the sportswriters present asked him whether Mahle may possibly be moved to the bullpen to help him get back on track.

"I think if there was one glaring thing for him to improve upon, it could be addressed in the bullpen or the video room... A change of scenery could help a guy move in a different direction," Vitello admitted, not mincing words about Mahle’s obvious struggles in the orange and black. With a 1-7 record and 6.04 ERA, Mahle clearly has not put the Giants in a position to win in many of his starts. Opponents have been hitting .286/.352/.486 off him – in contrast, they only managed a .218/.283/.310 line off him in his 86.2 innings with the Rangers last season.

With the rotation currently featuring Robbie Ray, Landen Roupp, Trevor McDonald, Mahle, and Houser, one of those guys would have to transition to a long-relief role to accommodate Webb’s return, unless they deemed it prudent to try out a six-man rotation for a little while. Another alternative could be sending McDonald down again, but he’s pitching well enough to have earned a longer leash at this point.

Giants' two rotation signings have both been awful mistakes

Mahle and Houser have been duking it out for the title of worst Giants pitcher not named Ryan Walker in the season’s first two months, and as bad as Mahle’s been, there’s an argument to be made that Houser has been even worse. Houser’s 5.30 ERA is a little better, albeit still bad, but he’s only struck out a measly 31 batters in 51+ innings. That 5.30 K/9 (same as his ERA, ironically) would be the second-worst in baseball among all starting pitchers if he had enough innings to qualify, ahead of only the Dodgers’ Justin Wrobleski.

Vitello, however, defended Houser more fervently in his dugout conversation. “I think we’re set with Houser,” he stated matter-of-factly in response to whether Houser’s status in the rotation was safe. In a win-at-all-costs scenario, surely any other live arm would give the Giants a better chance at winning ballgames than Houser at this stage, but the Giants are in the unfortunate situation of having mistakenly given him a multi-year deal over the offseason. They’re stuck with Houser, and they know it, so they’re crossing their fingers and giving him a little more room to try to right the ship.

Mahle, however, has no such luck as he only signed a one-year deal, probably in the hopes that a strong season in a pitcher-friendly environment could lead to a multi-year deal of his own next offseason. That certainly hasn’t come to pass to this point, though perhaps there’s some validity to a temporary move to the bullpen being what Mahle needs to get back to being the pitcher he’s been in the past. If he can even get back to his career norms, let alone his standout half-season in Texas last year, Mahle could eventually begin to help the Giants instead of hurting them.

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