The San Francisco Giants and every other major league team are still trying to bolster starting pitching as free agency ticks by and we start heading toward the new year.
After missing out on Shohei Ohtani, the market still possesses some strong arms, and the team reportedly has shown interest in Marcus Stroman.
According to Fansided’s Robert Murray, as he said on The Baseball Insiders, the Giants not only have shown interest, but it certainly makes sense.
Stroman’s first half of the 2023 season had him in Cy Young conversations after a 2.96 ERA, which led him to an All-Star selection. That number ended up ballooning to 3.95 after some struggles and a rib cartilage fracture could also explain why those numbers went south.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is turned off by high walk numbers which, as Murray pointed out, is probably why the team won’t pursue Blake Snell who posted a 13.3 percent walk percentage last season compared to Stroman’s nine.
Stroman can also induce ground balls which is always salivating when searching for a starter.
It also wouldn’t appear the Chicago Cubs would want a Stroman reunion after he opted out of his 2024 option. If that is the case, the 32-year-old would want more monetarily value and an elongated contract.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.