The San Francisco Giants truly do seem to be going for the even-year World Series bid, as they've been all in this offseason, bolstering their roster at every chance. After signing Jeff Samardzija a little over a week ago, they've taken another top free-agent pitcher in former Cincinnati Reds as well as Kansas City Royals and World Series champ Johnny Cueto. Stemming from this, rumors and buzz will certainly form, asking the question: does the Cueto and Samardzija signings give the Giants the best pitching rotation in the NL?
Certainly, there are some tough staffs out there, but before we get to them, just look at the Giants' expected rotation:
- Madison Bumgarner
- Johnny Cueto
- Jeff Samardzija
- Jake Peavy
- Matt Cain
All five of those guys, at one point or another in their respective careers, were once considered ace material, if not still today.
Obviously, other than Bumgarner, most of those guys have struggled in the past year or two. Cueto -- who signed for six years, $130 million -- had a 4.76 ERA with the Royals in 13 starts. Samardzija had a 4.96 ERA in 32 starts with the Chicago White Sox. Cain has had an ERA starting with a 4 or 5 since 2013; however, much of that has had to do with injuries, and is expected to bounce back well in 2016. Peavy has actually been the most consistent of those four pitchers in the past couple of years, putting together a pretty solid stint with the Giants as he had a 2.17 ERA in 12 starts during 2014 and a 3.58 in 19 starts last season.
The only issue with this rotation seems to be that the Giants are banking on a lot of these guys to perform like they used to, rather than what they've done most recently.
But there is room for optimism here. Samardzija switched from the NL to the AL and played on a poor White Sox team last year. Cueto did the same thing, going from the Reds to the Royals. These transitions can be kind of difficult for pitchers, as they don't know all of the hitters tendencies right away and can sometimes struggle to find a rhythm.
Heading back to the NL with the Giants could be a godsend for their ERAs and success.
After all, Cueto is only half a season removed from a sub-3 ERA; Samardzija is only one full season removed from that mark as well; and Cain is a couple of seasons behind that mark, but as said, is expected to finally be healthy going into 2016.
Ultimately, there are a lot of question marks, but there's also a lot of portential from this rotation. We're going to have to wait and see, but on paper and in theory, the Giants may have put together a starting five that could match the likes of the New York Mets and Washington Nationals in the National League.
