Giants, Logan Webb Have Talked About Long-Term Extension

The Giants have had some talks with ace right-hander Logan Webb a couple of long-term contract, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi instructed Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Neither Zaidi or Webb gave any specifics in regards to the nature of the talks, or whether or not or not a deal could possibly be wherever near completion.

Webb was arbitration-eligible for the primary time this offseason, and he and the Giants averted a listening to by agreeing to a one-year, $4.6MM deal previous to the submitting deadline.  The righty has two extra arb years remaining earlier than he’s scheduled to hit free company following the 2025 season, and since Webb solely turned 26 final November, he’ll nonetheless be in his prime when he reaches the open market.

The Giants’ willingness to signal long-term contracts has lengthy been a subject of dialog throughout Zaidi’s tenure, because the membership hasn’t formally gone past three assured years to any participant since Zaidi was employed following the 2018 season.  After all, that reality carries a big asterisk, because the Giants thought they’d signed Carlos Correa to a 13-year, $350MM contract in December earlier than issues from Correa’s bodily in regards to the shortstop’s proper leg and ankle prevented the deal from being finalized.  San Francisco was additionally a chief bidder for each Aaron Judge this offseason and Bryce Harper within the 2018-19 offseason, indicating that Zaidi’s entrance workplace is keen to splurge for a premium expertise.

After two glorious seasons within the Giants’ rotation, Webb definitely appears to be like like a blue-chip expertise in his personal proper.  A fourth-round choose for the Giants within the 2014 draft, the native of Rocklin, California had a 5.36 ERA over 94 innings in 2019-20, although the FIP (4.15) and xFIP (4.25) metrics and a .340 BABIP indicated that Webb’s ERA was partly because of unhealthy luck.

That fortune modified in 2021-22, when Webb had a 2.96 ERA, 58.4% grounder price, 23.2% strikeout price, and 6.1% stroll price over 340 2/3 innings.  Whereas Webb’s Ok% and whiff price dipped beneath common in 2022, he made up for it with sturdy management and a powerful potential to maintain the ball on the bottom.  Amongst all certified pitchers, solely Houston’s Framber Valdez has had a greater groundball price than Webb during the last two seasons.  Webb’s FIP and xFIP from 2021-2022 are fairly much like his ERA (and his .299 BABIP is roughly common), although the argument can definitely be made that such a grounder-heavy pitcher might’ve been much more efficient in entrance of a greater protection than the Giants’ assortment of subpar infield gloves.

Well being-wise, Webb missed about six weeks with a shoulder pressure in 2021, and a lower-back pressure despatched him to the IL proper on the finish of the 2022 marketing campaign.  Webb underwent a Tommy John surgical procedure in 2016, and he additionally served an 80-game PED suspension in 2019 after testing constructive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone.

Any damage historical past comes beneath extra of a microscope within the wake of the Correa scenario, although on paper, it might appear to be the Giants could be fairly assured about Webb’s long-term well being.  Whereas discussing an extension with a younger star is due diligence for any crew, the truth that the Giants have already had some stage of negotiation with Webb’s representatives on the ACES company is probably additionally a touch that the crew is comfy in making a long-term dedication.

Sandy Alcantara’s five-year, $56MM extension with the Marlins from November 2021 stands out as a logical comp for Webb’s camp, in no small half as a result of it’s at the moment the most important deal ever given to a pitcher with between three and 4 years of Main League service time.  Alcantara signed that extension at age-26 (the identical age as Webb now) and the 2 hurlers additionally share an analogous profile as grounder-heavy pitchers.

There’s a slight distinction in that Alcantara was additionally in his first offseason of arbitration eligibility on the time of the extension, however hadn’t but agreed to his wage for the following 12 months.  As such, his deal coated all three arb years, Alcantara’s first two free agent years, and probably the 2027 season if Miami workout routines a $21MM membership possibility.  Although a Webb extension might overwrite his 2023 wage, a brand new deal would theoretically start with the 2024 season, which means that the Giants must pay a bigger worth if needed to cowl one other considered one of Webb’s free agent years.

By way of long-term payroll, San Francisco has plenty of open space for the longer term, with such large salaries as Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford, Alex Wood and (relying on participant or membership choices) Michael Conforto, Ross Stripling, and Alex Cobb all probably coming off the books subsequent winter.  It leaves the Giants with a number of flexibility in locking up Webb as a cornerstone piece of a rotation that’s in any other case crammed with veterans on shorter-term contracts, and the crew nonetheless has loads of house to pursue different high-priced free agent or commerce targets subsequent winter after lacking out on Correa and Choose.