Although he’s soon to become one of the top free-agent pitchers in the majors, right-hander Kevin Gausman has interest in remaining with the Giants, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. As Schulman points out, you’d expect that type of sentiment from a pending free agent. However, Gausman noted that the presence of Giants icon and catcher Buster Posey was among the reasons he signed with them, and he’d like to pitch to Posey next season.
Unfortunately for Gausman, he hasn’t gotten an opportunity to team with Posey yet. The backstop opted out of the season before it began because of coronavirus concerns. In the absence of the six-time All-Star, the Giants have turned to a combination of touted prospect Joey Bart, Chadwick Tromp and Tyler Heineman behind the plate. The Giants hope Bart will end up as the long-term successor to Posey, but the latter is still under contract for 2021. That means Gausman could get his wish to work with Posey if he re-signs in the offseason.
Less than a year ago, the Giants bought relatively low on Gausman — a former Oriole, Brave and Red — with a $9M guarantee, and the soon-to-be 30-year-old has since turned in one of the best seasons of his career. Through 58 2/3 innings, the hard-throwing Gausman has logged a 3.68 ERA with 11.81 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9. He ranks seventh among qualified National League starters in both strikeouts per nine and FIP (3.15).
Considering his output with San Francisco, there’s little doubt Gausman will land a much bigger payday during the upcoming winter. In fact, it’s quite possible the Giants will hand Gausman a qualifying offer before free agency commences.
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