San Francisco Giants add another pitcher to crowded staff in Trevor Cahill
By Justin Fried
The San Francisco Giants signed veteran right-handed pitcher Trevor Cahill to a minor-league deal on Wednesday adding to an already crowded pitching staff.
The San Francisco Giants have seemingly never heard of the phrase “less is more.” Or at the very least, they certainly don’t adhere to it.
The Giants continued to add to their crowded roster by signing veteran right-hander Trevor Cahill to a minor-league contract on Tuesday. Cahill is just the latest in a long string of non-roster invites with major-league experience who will be trying to crack the Opening Day roster.
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And much like some of the other signings, Cahill brings with him Bay Area ties as well as a connection to two important members of the organization.
The 11-year veteran started his career under the guidance of Farhan Zaidi’s Oakland Athletics and he also played alongside new pitching coach Andrew Bailey while in Oakland. Bailey even coached Cahill last season while the two were together with the Los Angeles Angels.
Simply put, it’s not a surprise at all that Cahill finds himself in San Francisco.
The 31-year-old spent last season with the Angels and he struggled to a 5.98 ERA in 37 games pitched (11 starts). But the year before that, Cahill was a valuable member of the A’s rotation helping lead the team to a Wild Card berth.
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Cahill made 20 starts in 2018 finishing with a 3.76 ERA while striking out 100 batters in 110 innings pitched. But after a disastrous season last year, the Giants were able to get him on the cheap.
Cahill joins a long list of veterans and inexperienced pitchers all vying for a roster spot. The likes of Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, and Kevin Gausman all have spots locked up, but there’s very little that’s set about the Giants pitching staff.
With the new three-batter limit rule that the MLB is implementing, more teams will likely make use of pitchers who can go for multiple innings at a time out of the bullpen. That is theoretically where Cahill could provide some value.
Of course, he’ll still be competing for a spot in the starting rotation, but it’s more likely the team looks to give those open spots to some of the younger players on the roster. Don’t expect to see Cahill pitching every fifth day in 2020.
Nonetheless, signing Cahill is still a worthy gamble and perhaps he could provide similar value to someone like Drew Pomeranz who was flipped at the trade deadline last season after redeeming himself in San Francisco.
While the Giants are still rebuilding and resetting their foundation, expect to see Zaidi make an abundance of those moves.
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Trevor Cahill is back in the Bay Area and we’ll see what kind of impact he could make in San Francisco.