San Francisco Giants: The interesting reason why Anthony DeSclafani didn’t get a QO
By Kevin Henry
The San Francisco Giants did not extend a qualifying offer to starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani, allowing him to explore free agency without any kind of draft pick attached to him should he sign with another team.
So why would the San Francisco Giants not extend a qualifying offer to one of their top pitchers of 2021? San Francisco president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi had an interesting answer during last week’s Major League Baseball general manager meetings in Carlsbad, Calif.
Did the successful season from Anthony DeSclafani prevent the San Francisco Giants from extending a qualifying offer to him?
When asked by reporters about DeSclafani not receiving a qualifying offer, Zaidi mentioned that it wouldn’t make as much sense after the 31-year-old right-hander posted a 3.17 ERA, 1.091 WHIP, and 129 ERA+ in 167.2 innings last season that includes two complete-game shutouts.
“I think some of it for us was he sort of did the one-year thing and had a good year,” Zaidi said, referencing DeSclafani coming to the Giants on a one-year, $6 million before last season. “We just felt in this case, he was a guy who probably earned and would thrive with the security of a multiyear deal, so that’s what we’re talking about with him.”
Yes Giants fans, take note of that last part of the quote. Zaidi did mention that the conversations with DeSclafani and his agents returning to the Giants are continuing, with talks even happening during the GM meetings.
“Ultimately, it’s an economic decision,” Zaidi continued. “But I think where he is in his career, what he did this year, having the ability to go the multiyear route was important to him and that’s why that’s kind of been our conversation.”
Of course, the Giants aren’t the only team in the conversation about bringing DeSclafani onto the roster. Those teams include the Detroit Tigers, per a tweet from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
Next. Looking at DeSclafani and the rest of the top 25 free agents. dark
DeSclafani has a career 4.06 ERA and gave up two runs and five hits in 1.2 innings in his only 2021 National League Division start and appearance against the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, the Giants and other teams are banking on what DeSclafani showed them during the regular season being the kind of pitcher he can be for them in 2022 and beyond.