Mentorship of Future Hall of Famer Could Create Future San Francisco Giants Success

The San Francisco Giants entered the offseason widely expected to add to their starting rotation, especially after the departure of Blake Snell to their heated rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

While they had interest in virtually all of the top of market names — nearly landing at least one — the pursuits did not work out and the Giants were left looking towards the secondary group of available free agent pitchers.

San Francisco landed on future Hall of Fame ace Justin Verlander, who was coming off probably the worst season of his 19-year career after battling through numerous injuries.

The fact he is now 42 years old made the right-hander much less attractive than he would have been even a few seasons ago, but Verlander has been a capable starter as recently as 2023, so even a depleted version of himself will still be able to help this rotation.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of bringing in someone like Verlander, however, cannot be quantified on any sort of stat sheet.

In a young Giants rotation with several players teetering on taking the next step as big leaguers, San Francisco brought in arguably the best pitcher of his generation to provide guidance and a mentorship to the room no matter what he does on the field.

Verlander was not always open to the idea of helping young teammates even as he started to age, but that has changed in recent years.

And now, the future Hall of Famer is fully embracing the mentorship role with the Giants, already working with many of them in camp.

With young pitchers looking for guidance on how to perform at the highest levels like Verlander has done for nearly the same amount of time some of them have been alive, the argument could be made that bringing him in even for just a season will pay off more in the long run than anyone else would have.

Guys like Hayden Birdsong and Kyle Harrison, who are likely battling for the final spot in the rotation, having the chance to learn the craft of being a starting pitcher from truly one of the best to ever do it.

That's a value that can't be understated.

If Verlander is healthy and contributing on the field as well - which by all accounts thus far in the spring he looks primed to do - it could be a scary thought for the rest of the National League.

However, having a legend motivated not only to perform on the field but also make his teammates better is something which could put San Francisco in tremendous spot, especially when it comes to the future success of these young players who are expected to star for the Giants in the coming years.

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