The San Francisco Giants added a veteran option for the rotation alongside ace Johnny Cueto by signing right-handed pitcher Anthony DeSclafani to a one-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.
The deal is worth $6 million in salary, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The Giants still will look to add another top-tier starter, according to president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.
“He was an early target for us. We’ve talked a good amount about looking to add some starting pitching to our roster and take some pressure off some of our younger pitchers,” Zaidi said. “DeSclafani is a guy that we think comes with some ceiling. He’s got really good stuff, good velocity on the fastball, a lot of characteristics that we look for. Obviously didn’t have his best season in 2020 but in 2019 he really had a nice year. That would be a great outcome for us if he can even get back to that level as recently as 2019. We think there’s even upside beyond that.”
With the Reds in his sixth MLB season, DeSclafani went 1-2 with a 7.22 ERA over nine games — seven starts — spanning 33⅔ innings in 2020.
Me and my family are excited for this new opportunity! Let’s go @SFGiants https://t.co/4vvbJ7rpto
— Anthony DeSclafani (@ADeSclafani) December 16, 2020
“Me and my family are excited for this new opportunity! Let’s go @SFGiants,” DeSclafani posted on Twitter.
To which Giants manager Gabe Kapler responded, “Let’s go!”
DeSclafani missed all of 2017 with an elbow injury but has otherwise been fairly durable, making at least 20 starts in 2015, ’16, ’18 and ’19.
The 30-year-old DeSclafani can earn an additional $250,000 in performance bonuses based on innings pitched. He could make $62,500 each for 140, 160, 180 and 200 innings.
DeSclafani could help fill a vacancy in the rotation given the departures of Jeff Samardzija and Drew Smyly from the Giants, who missed the playoffs on the final day of Kapler’s first season as manager.
The Giants and Cueto have decided the right-hander won’t pitch winter ball in his native Dominican Republic after all, given this year was his first quasi-full season back from Tommy John surgery.
Young pitchers Tyler Beede and Logan Webb are working back from surgeries.
San Francisco has 39 players on the 40-man roster.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.