Five Potential San Francisco Giants Pitching Targets Without Corbin Burnes

The San Francisco Giants’ good-vibes offseason officially ended on Saturday.

Corbin Burnes agreed to a six-year, $210 million seal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. So not only does the right-hander get paid and get to live in his Arizona home most of the year, he gets to haunt the Giants for six seasons.

San Francisco had hoped he would be the cherry on top of an offseason that has gone well for the Giants, which includes the signing of shortstop Willy Adames.

Now? The Giants have to wade into the free-agent market again. If the season started now the rotation would probably look like Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Hayden Birdsong, Kyle Harrison and a young fifth starter. Hence the hope of getting one more veteran.

Here are five likely options for the Giants to consider.

RHP Roki Sasaki

The Giants could have made a push for him even if they signed Burnes, simply because of the cost control. As an international free agent he can only max out at around $7.5 million. Now, president of baseball operations Buster Posey must be a master salesman to land him.

The good news is that unlike most international free agents (think signings from the Caribbean), Sasaki is ready for an MLB rotation now. Just about every scout in baseball agrees on that.

RHP Jack Flaherty

He’s not yet 30, so he’s looking for a multi-year deal. Complicating matters is that he’s not an ace and has only won more than 10 games in a season twice.

But he went 13-7 last season, along with a 3.17 ERA as he helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series. He’s been relatively durable and can eat innings. In a pitcher’s park like Oracle, he might thrive.

LHP Andrew Heaney

The Giants have a lot of right-handers and a veteran left-hander like Heaney would help. He’s a starter best suited for the back of the rotation whose strength is taking the ball every fifth day and occasionally sliding into a relief role.

He went 5-14 with a 4.28 ERA with Texas last season, while he went 10-6 with a 4.15 ERA during the Rangers’ World Series campaign in 2023. He’s unlikely to get you deep into games, but he can be had on a one-year deal.

RHP Max Scherzer

The west coast may be a tough sell for Scherzer (he lives in Florida). The 40-year-old is also coming off an awful season in which he went 2-4 for a 3.95 ERA in just nine starts as he had to recover from a herniated disc and developed a nerve issue in his arm.

The medicals will be of the utmost importance with Scherzer. The disc is probably fine, but the nerve actually required him to change his arm slot to pitch. When healthy, he is the ultimate competitor and still has quality stuff.

LHP José Quintana

He also fits into the mold of Heaney, though he’s coming off a much more effective season with the New York Mets (10-10, 3.75 ERA). He’s been largely forgotten about this offseason. That could be because he’s entering his age 36 season. But for a crafty left-hander who showed durability last season, a one-year deal isn’t out of line.