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Report: Kevin Gausman Agrees to 1-Year, $9 Million Contract with Giants
December 10, 2019
Kevin Gausman on Tuesday agreed to join the San Francisco Giants on a one-year, $9 million contract, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The right-handed pitcher also has performance bonuses included in the deal, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Gausman spent 2019 with the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds. The 28-year-old began the season with the Braves before the Reds claimed him off waivers Aug. 5.
With Atlanta, Gausman went 3-7 with a 6.19 ERA across 16 starts. He embraced a relief role in Cincinnati, appearing in 15 games but starting only one. He went 0-2 with a 4.03 ERA.
Gausman hadn't made a regular-season appearance out of the bullpen since 2015 prior to doing so for the Reds, according to Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
"I think the reason the Giants had to pay $9 [million] is because other teams had fatter offers for Gausman, but as a reliever," The Athletic's Grant Brisbee relayed. "He clearly wants to start."
The Giants starting rotation, according to the club's depth chart, is Jeff Samardzija, Johnny Cueto, Tyler Beede, Dereck Rodriguez and Logan Webb. The glaring omission is ace Madison Bumgarner, who became a free agent after rejecting the Giants' qualifying offer.
Gausman will not fill the void Bumgarner left behind.
The Baltimore Orioles drafted Gausman fourth overall in 2012. Since then, he has not lived up to expectations. His best stint came after the Orioles traded him to Atlanta in 2018. He started 10 games for the Braves, going 5-3 with a 2.87 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.
Overall, Gausman is 47-63 with a 4.30 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 855 strikeouts in 925.2 innings across 191 games, including 154 starts.