Wood back as Giants' rotation takes shape

The Giants took another step toward filling the sizable hole in their rotation left by the departure of ace Kevin Gausman, re-signing left-hander Alex Wood to a two-year, $25 million deal on Wednesday.

Wood, 30, will earn a $12.5 million base salary in 2022 and ‘23 and can make an additional $2.5 million in performance bonuses in each of the next two seasons.

Wood’s pact comes one day after the Giants agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract with veteran right-hander Alex Cobb. San Francisco also retained Anthony DeSclafani on a three-year, $36 million deal last week, giving the Giants three veteran starters to slot behind emerging ace Logan Webb.

Offseason business could hit pause with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire on Wednesday night, but the Giants feel they’re in a good spot now that they have four out of five spots filled in their projected starting rotation for 2022.

“They had a lot of work to do from the time our season ended until what looks like a little hiatus coming at midnight [Wednesday], but you feel good about it,” Wood said. “That's four really great arms, guys that have proven that they can have success at the highest levels and proven they can carry clubs throughout stretches in the season.”

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said he hopes to continue to build more depth and potentially bring in another veteran starter this winter, though the Giants also have a few other internal options who could be part of the rotation mix next year, including Tyler Beede, Sammy Long and Sean Hjelle.

Still, it won’t be easy for the Giants to replace Gausman’s All-Star production at the top of their rotation. The 30-year-old right-hander emerged as a frontline starter during his two seasons in San Francisco, logging a 2.81 ERA over 33 starts in 2021 before landing a five-year, $110 million contract with Toronto earlier this week.

“He was a great pitcher for us the last two seasons,” Zaidi said. “It's a tough loss. We had conversations with his representation during the season, but once free agency hits, you kind of lose a lot of control of that process. He obviously did very well financially. I personally and a lot of our players are happy for him. On the baseball field, it's a tough loss, but we're excited about some of the pitchers we brought back. We have a lot of offseason left to kind of continue to improve our team.”

Cobb, 34, logged a 3.76 ERA for the Angels this past season, though he was limited to only 18 starts due to a right wrist injury. While he was sidelined for a good chunk of the season, Cobb performed well when healthy, posting a career-high strikeout rate of 24.9% (his previous high was 23.2% in 2013). He was also in the 94th percentile among qualified pitchers in barrel rate per Statcast, giving up a barrel on just 4.2% of batted balls against him in ’21.

Like Gausman, Cobb relies heavily on his splitter, which he threw 36.9% of the time in 2021, holding opposing hitters to a .226 average. Cobb also displayed an uptick in velocity on his sinker and curveball after visiting Driveline, a data-driven training facility based outside of Seattle.

“We were very intrigued by his performance this past season,” Zaidi said. “An uptick in fastball velocity, the use of the split, which has always been part of his arsenal. He was also throwing his curveball a little bit harder this year and getting some good results with it.”

Cobb said San Francisco was among the first teams to express interest in him after he became a free agent last month. He was impressed by the Giants’ surprising success in 2021, when they won a franchise-record 107 games en route to dethroning the Dodgers in the National League West, but he was also drawn to the opportunity to reunite with many of his friends on the current roster.

Cobb played with Evan Longoria and Curt Casali on the Rays at the beginning of his career and also has a good relationship with bullpen and catching coach Craig Albernaz, who was his first catcher in pro ball back in 2006.

"The team as a whole is a very exciting team,” Cobb said. “It was fun to watch them as an outsider last year when the baseball world didn’t give them a chance. They became the best team throughout the regular season, so I want to be a part of that and try to help contribute to that rotation and the mindset that we are the tone-setters.”

Wood, who originally joined the Giants on a one-year deal with a $3 million base salary in January, logged a 3.83 ERA over 26 starts this past season. He missed three weeks after testing positive for COVID-19 in September, but he returned to pitch well down the stretch and in the postseason. Wood also emerged as the club’s most reliable stopper, as the Giants went 12-1 when he started after a loss and 19-7 in his starts overall.

“I think there’s always room for improvement, but having some history with Alex Wood, what really impressed me about his season beyond just the numbers was the fact that he was able to sustain arm strength and velocity throughout the season,” Zaidi said.