SF Giants agree to 1-year deal with starter Tyler Mahle: report
The Giants entered the offseason hoping to add two starting pitchers. They’ve now checked that box — without breaking the bank.
San Francisco has agreed with right-handed starter Tyler Mahle on a one-year deal, according to multiple reports. The San Francisco Chronicle first reported that Mahle and the Giants were closing in on a deal.
Mahle is coming off his best season in recent years, posting a 2.18 ERA (3.37 fielding-independent pitching) over 16 starts for the Texas Rangers under then-manager Bruce Bochy, who is now a special advisor for the Giants.
The 31-year-old has only made 24 starts over the last three seasons due to multiple injuries, including undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. When healthy, Mahle has proven himself capable of being a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter.
Mahle enjoyed a breakout season in 2021 with the Cincinnati Reds, posting a 3.75 ERA (3.80 FIP) over 33 starts with 210 strikeouts over 180 innings. Despite his injuries, Mahle has a 3.61 ERA (3.77 FIP) over 473 1/3 innings since ’20.
The agreement with Mahle, who has a career 4.07 ERA over nine major-league seasons, comes about two weeks after the Giants signed right-hander Adrian Houser to a two-year deal with a club option for 2018. Houser and Mahle join a rotation that will feature Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp.
Along with that starting five, the Giants have a plethora of young starters who will likely contribute starts next season, a group that includes Hayden Birdsong, Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell, Trevor McDonald and Kai-Wei Teng. Since Mahle’s deal is only one year, San Francisco would have the flexibility to elevate a young starter into the rotation if needed.
While Mahle likely rounds out the rotation, it’s not implausible that the Giants will continue to monitor Japanese ace Tatsuya Imai, whose posting window ends on Friday at 2 p.m. PT. Imai was expected to receive a long-term, nine-figure contract — the type of deal San Francisco doesn’t appear willing to give out — but the right-hander is trending towards a shorter deal with a higher average annual value as his deadline approaches.
This agreement marks the third time this offseason the Giants have added a pitcher with diminished value due to injury.
Left-handed reliever Sam Hentges didn’t pitch in the majors or minors last season due to various injuries, while right-handed reliever Jason Foley was limited to five appearances with the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. Hentges should be ready for spring training, but Foley will not be ready until the middle of next season.
Having added to their rotation and bullpen, the Giants’ biggest priority now appears to be finding a right fielder to complement Heliot Ramos in left and Jung Hoo Lee in center.
Aside from Lee and Ramos, San Francisco’s current in-house options for right field on the 40-man roster are Drew Gilbert, Jerar Encarnacion, Luis Matos, Grant McCray and waiver claim Justin Dean, none of whom have had sustained success at the major-league level. Joey Wiemer and Wade Meckler were designated for assignment while Marco Luciano was claimed off outright waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Along with adding Houser and Mahle to the rotation and Hentges and Foley to the bullpen, the Giants added a candidate for backup catcher by acquiring Daniel Susac from the Minnesota Twins.
Since Susac was a Rule 5 Draft pick (Minnesota selected him from the Athletics before trading him to San Francisco), Susac was automatically assigned to the team’s 26-man roster. Susac’s Rule 5 status gives him an edge for the Opening Day roster over Jesus Rodriguez, who was acquired from the Yankees in the Camilo Doval trade.