MLB writer explains why Giants have more work to do
If there was any doubt that the San Francisco Giants were all-in on completing in 2025, the stunning trade for Rafael Devers strengthened them as true National League dangers.
Yet if the Giants have a lineup capable of challenging the Los Angeles Dodgers, they sure have not played like it. The club has gone simply 9-11 since the trade, consisting of series losses to the lowly Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins. And while much of the attention has focused on a new-look offense that has yet to click, the Giants’ beginning rotation depth has become a glaring concern also. Through the very first 2 months of the season, the Giants were able to ride All-Stars Robbie Ray and Logan Webb and the league’s finest bullpen, but as is so typically the case, the 162-game onslaught has exposed the lineup’s drawbacks.
To be reasonable, Landon Roupp has actually provided the Giants as much as they could have hoped for in his very first season in a Major League Baseball rotation, but spotty command (16 strolls in his last 22 innings) has actually avoided him from working deep into games. And while Roupp has at least been able to keep the Giants in games, the same can not be said for Hayden Birdsong and Justin Verlander, with the previous posting a 5.10 period after relocating to the rotation in May and the latter yet to tape a win in any of his 14 starts.
Though none of the aforementioned trio has actually been devastating, their inability to work deep into games has actually put a lot more pressure on a dominant-yet-overtaxed bullpen. Their drawbacks are particularly apparent when stacked up against the elite rotations of the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and a healthy Los Angeles Dodgers, which is why Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller determined the beginning rotation as the Giants’ most significant requirement at the due date.
“While you can manage in the postseason with 2.5 quality starters, the Giants need to really get to the postseason initially,” Miller composed. “To do so, sprucing up the back of the rotation is a near must.”
One potential suitable for the Giants is Kansas City Royals ace Seth Lugo. The 35-year-old has actually followed up his Cy Young runner-up season with another great project in 2025, permitting three made runs or less in all however two of his 16 starts. Like cavernous Kauffman Stadium, Oracle Park is a fantastic suitable for Lugo’s pitch-to-contact method, and his ability to eat up innings would be a welcome addition to the rotation.
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