Giants sign Drew Smyly to one-year contract

The San Francisco Giants and former Phillies pitcher Drew Smyly have agreed to a one-year contract worth $4 million, with $250,000 in incentives, according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. The Giants placed Smyly on their 40-man roster and has a chance to compete for a job in the starting rotation.

Smyly signed a contract with the Phillies on July 21, filling a need in the back-end of the rotation with Arrieta, Velasquez, Pivetta and Eflin all struggling. He was fantastic in his first two outings against the Pirates and Giants, striking out 13 and allowing only one earned run over 13 innings. Smyly struggled the rest of the way forward, posting a 5.44 ERA in 10 starts.

There was a possibility the Phillies could have brought along Smyly for another year. The team could certainly use more pitching depth, and Smyly’s contract could have kept the Phillies below the luxury tax, depending on how the arbiters rule on Realmuto and Neris’ cases. Four million dollars for a depth piece, however, is not within the Phillies self-imposed budget limit.

Few options remain in the free-agent starting pitching market. The pitchers with the two highest 2019 fWAR totals that are still looking for employment are Andrew Cashner (1.8) and Jason Vargas (1.8).

With the signing, Smyly reunites with former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler and has a decent chance of breaking the Opening Day rotation. The Giants rotation as it is now is righty-heavy, and if Smyly performs well enough in Spring Training, he can be seen as an option that gives opposing hitters a different look.

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