Sitting just five victories away from reaching the magical number of 300 career wins, left-hander Randy Johnson is packing his bags for the Bay Area. The 45-year old hurler has agreed to a one-year deal with the San Francisco Giants, with a base value of $8 million and up to an additional $5 million in bonuses and incentives.
A native of Walnut Creek, California, Johnson's return to the Bay Area is something of a homecoming for the five-time Cy Young Award winner, who went 11-10 with a 3.91 ERA in 30 starts last year for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Johnson joins shortstop Edgar Renteria and relievers Jeremy Affeldt and Bob Howry as new additions to the Giants, who finished the 2008 campaign fourth in the NL West with a record of 72-90.
San Francisco now boasts a starting rotation containing three Cy Young Award winners in Johnson (a recipient in 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002), lefty Barry Zito (2002), and righty Tim Lincecum (2008). Rounding out the starting staff will be 24-year-old fireballer Matt Cain (8-14, 116 ERA+ in 2008) and left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, who has struggled with his command since entering the big leagues in 2006. That said, the question remains: With the Giants' recent off season additions, should they expect to see an improvement in their play on the field?
The answer is yes… But probably not a lot.
Make no mistake, the Giants now have one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball. Despite his age (he turned 45 in September) Johnson remains one of the better left-handed starters in the game. Though no longer overpowering, the Unit's fastball sits effectively at 92-93mph, and his slider is still a devastating pitch when he's able to command it.
Additionally, Johnson should benefit from the move out of hitter-friendly Chase Field, where he allowed 16 of the 24 home runs against him last year, to the more neutral AT&T Park. Johnson joins a rotation featuring Tim Lincecum, the 24-year-old staff ace who last year led the Majors in strikeouts (265) and ranked second in Adjusted ERA+ (167) on his way to winning to his first Cy Young Award.
It will be interesting to see whether the diminutive right-hander will be affected by his heavy workload last year, during which he averaged 109 pitches per start in just his second season in the bigs. The Giants' other 24-year-old righty, Matt Cain, enters 2009 having gone just 15-30 the last two years, despite posting a respectable 3.71 ERA in that span.
Left-hander Jonathan Sanchez is a fastball-changeup pitcher who commands neither pitch very well, but gets good movement on both. Though nothing special, Sanchez posts solid K-rates and should be an adequate placeholder for high-ceiling minor leaguers Tim Alderson and Madison Bumgarner.
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