Report: SF Giants "heavily involved" in Kodai Senga sweepstakes
Since the SF Giants are reportedly not making a big effort to re-sign Carlos Rodón, they appear to be eyeing longtime Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks star Kodai Senga as a possible replacement, per a report by MLB Network's Jon Morosi. Morosi reported that Senga would be "among that next group to sign" after Rodón and Justin Verlander agreed to contracts and singled out the Giants as likely pursuers. Senga is the 24th-best free agent available this offseason, per Giants Baseball Insider's rankings.
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"One team that's heavily involved in the Senga market, I am told, the San Francisco Giants," Morosi said. "A Kodai Senga would be really important for the roster, but also to complete the sales pitch to bring Aaron Judge back to California."
It's not a surprise that the Giants have interest in Senga, the 29-year-old right-handed pitcher from the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. They hosted Senga at Oracle Park in mid-November, putting a photo of Senga in a Giants uniform on the scoreboard. The team has been linked to him since free agency began, and when the winter meetings begin on Sunday in San Diego, signings are expected to follow.
Senga was a three-time All-Star in Japan, making it as a 20-year-old reliever in 2013, and again as a starter in 2017 and 2019. He won the Japan Series with the Hawks in 2015. In 2017, the Hawks won the first of four straight Japan Series, and Senga was the ace of the staff, pitching the opening game of all four series.
He was considered the best pitcher in Japan in 2019 and 2020, winning the strikeout title both years and the ERA and wins title in 2020. Senga also won the Golden Glove for the best fielding pitcher both of those years. He tried to get the Hawks to post him to major league baseball for years, but Fukuoka refused, having never done so.
Last year, Senga was 11-6 with a 1.94 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 144 innings. He was also an international free agent, meaning he could sign with an MLB team without them having to pay a posting fee or surrender draft pick compensation. Clearly, that's appealing to the Giants, who are likely to add a compensatory draft pick when Rodon signs elsewhere.
Senga throws very hard, with a fastball that reportedly peaks at 99-101 MPH. He also has a killer split-finger fastball, a pitch Kevin Gausman threw to much success in a Giants uniform. Senga's pitch is known as the "Ghost Fork," and you can tell the Giants' marketing department is salivating at the possibilities. After all, they can't sell giraffe hats or captain hats if Brandon Belt doesn't come back.
Senga's two biggest issues are walks - 49 last year - and injuries. He's never thrown more than 180 innings in a season, and he turns 30 in January. Of course, that's young for a free-agent starter, especially with a track record like his. The signing comes with some injury risk, but that's true of signing virtually any starting pitcher.
Clearly, he's one of the top free agent starters - Jim Bowden listed him 4th behind Jacob DeGrom, Verlander, and Rodon, and 10th overall. But Morosi argues that there's another free agent driving the Giants' pursuit: Aaron Judge.
"If Aaron Judge is going to sign with the Giants, there has to be a component that says, 'What are out chances to win now?'" Morosi said. "For the Giants to sign Aaron Judge, that cannot be the culmination of the off-season moves, but rather, a big first step."
San Francisco had an excellent pitching staff last year, but Rodon was a huge part of it. This isn't a deep free-agent class for pitchers. Miss on Senga, and suddenly they're left with options like Chris Bassitt or Jameson Taillon. Those guys aren't bad, but consider that Taillon was the fourth starter on Judge's old team. Does he really want to sign with a team where Taillon is no. 2?
Of course, Senga also wants to play for a contender.
Senga wants a big market (check), an analytically-oriented organization (check), and a win-now team (in theory, check).
To land Aaron Judge, the SF Giants need to convince him they're serious about winning. They may need to convince Kodai Senga of the same thing.
