DETROIT — Despite making his Giants debut out of the bullpen, Sean Manaea will make his second start of the season Friday against the Tigers, and it appears that the rotation is where he will remain for the foreseeable future as the club manages its glut of starting pitching.
President Farhan Zaidi said Thursday on KNBR that Manaea had “earned the right” to start every fifth day, while fellow free-agent addition Ross Stripling will primarily pitch out of the bullpen as the homer-prone right-hander works through his early season struggles.
“For the time being,” Zaidi told hosts Tom Tolbert and Adam Copeland, “I think we will see Manaea making regular starts and Stripling will be slotted in there when it helps to give guys an extra day.”
It was an open question how the Giants would manage a group of capable starters that numbers seven with the inclusion of Jakob Junis. The Giants gave Stripling the nod in their third game of the season, while Manaea and fellow lefty Alex Wood didn’t make a start on their opening six-game road trip against the Yankees and White Sox, two right-handed heavy lineups.
Stripling, however, was rocked by the Yankees in his first start, which only previewed the results of his ensuing two relief appearances. Stripling served up three home run balls in five innings against the Yankees and has allowed six homers over 10 innings of work, while compiling a 9.00 ERA. The six homers allowed by Stripling are tied for the second-most in the majors and already halfway to his total over 134⅓ innings with Toronto in 2022.
Manaea, meanwhile, was relegated to a relief role the first time through the rotation. Coming out of the bullpen against the White Sox for only the fourth time of his career, Manaea walked the first two batters he faced and allowed three runs over two innings but earned praise from manager Gabe Kapler for the “sacrifice” he made for the team — and also the numbers he posted on the radar gun.
Reaping the rewards of an offseason plyoball routine, Manaea registered the fastest pitch of his career — 97 mph — and carried that velocity into his first start, Saturday against the Royals, as he tossed six innings of one-run ball and struck out eight batters.
“Manaea did a great job,” Zaidi said. “He’s kind of earned the right to be in the rotation with how he’s looked early on.”
The swingman role is more familiar to Stripling, who served in a similar capacity for the Blue Jays over the past three seasons. He made 45 starts but also appeared out of the bullpen 16 times. Over his career, Stripling has split his duties nearly in half between starting (105 games) and relieving (102 games), with a 3.89 ERA as a starter and a 3.73 mark out of the bullpen.
“With the way he’s throwing, he might be back and forth a little bit,” Zaidi said. “But I think he’s going to make a lot of starts for us over the course of the season.”
Notable
— The Giants’ series opener against the Tigers on Friday kicks off a string of 14 straight games, their longest stretch without a day off so far this season, which could provide Stripling an opportunity to make another start. “It’s possible we run through all six guys in that stretch to give everybody an extra day,” Zaidi said.
— Between Stripling (two years, $25 million), Manaea (two years, $25 million) and Taylor Rogers (three years, $33 million), the Giants committed $83 million to three pitchers this offseason. In five relief appearances, Rogers has an 18.90 ERA and was last seen placing his glove in a trash bin after walking all four batters he faced in Wednesday’s loss to the Dodgers. At 93 mph, Rogers’ average fastball velocity is also a tick or two down from his readings in 2021 (95.7 mph) and 2022 (94.3 mph). “We just haven’t seen the arm speed and arm strength that’s been a big part of his success going back a few years,” Zaidi said. “We looked at the trends and he sort of builds up velocity over the course of the season. I think he can be successful at the velocity he’s throwing at right now, but certainly not if he’s not throwing strikes.”
— Logan Webb benefitted from a scoring change on the ball from Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman that he booted in his last start. It was changed from a hit to an error, lowering Webb’s ERA to 4.76, instead of 6.35. The change was welcomed by Webb, who wondered how the 59-mph dribbler was ruled a hit in the first place, but still left his ERA abnormally high through his first three starts. At 0-3, Webb has lost three consecutive decisions for only the second time in his career, but he has also struck out 22 and issued only three walks, two figures that gives Zaidi confidence in his young ace. “We’re really confident he’s going to turn it around,” Zaidi said. “We actually think he’s throwing the ball really well.”
— Zaidi said the Giants are “hopeful” and “optimistic” that injured outfielders Mitch Haniger (oblique) and Austin Slater (hamstring) will be able to begin rehab assignments during the club’s road trip. Both players have missed more time than initially expected and at this point will likely require extended rehab stints of 5-7 days, Zaidi said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com