With Kevin Gasuamn, Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani all slated to hit the free agency this offseason, Farhan Zaidi knows that rebuilding the Giants starting rotation is massively important.
Following a 107-win season, the Giants have a long list of questions to be answered this offseason.
Buster Posey's retirement of course complicates things, plus the front office has a big decision to make regarding the future of Brandon Belt. But the biggest question mark is the starting rotation.
Logan Webb has established himself as a staff ace but it's unknown at this time who else will join him in the rotation. The Giants already have made Johnny Cueto a free agent, and Kevin Gausman, Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani could soon join him. So, who will the Giants target on the open market?
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Two future Hall of Famers certainly would be an interesting start. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince predicts the Giants will sign both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander this offseason.
Scherzer, 37, went 15-4 with a 2.46 ERA this past season. He struck out 236 batters in 179 1/3 innings. Even as he ages, he led the majors in WHIP (0.86) and hits per nine innings (6.0). His 1.8 walks per nine innings led the NL.
The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Scherzer at the trade deadline last season and he went a perfect 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA for them in the regular season. He then allowed just one earned run in eight innings -- one start and one save -- against the Giants in the NLDS.
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Verlander, who turns 39 in February, missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He made just one start in 2020. In 2019, when he last pitched a complete season, he led the majors in wins (21), starts (34), innings (223), WHIP (0.80) and hits per nine innings (5.5) on his way to winning his second Cy Young award.
The Giants have the money, but it still would be eye-opening to see them make these two signings this offseason.
