How SF Giants’ rotation questions impact their bullpen construction

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Bob Melvin does not believe bullpen games are the solution to the uncertainty in the San Francisco Giants’ starting rotation. But, he said, it will influence the makeup of his relief corps, which will factor in heavily in their plans to cover innings in the early portion of the season.

“At this point in time, I don’t want to start with a reliever,” Melvin said. “(But) it may end up being a short start from a starter and then then bullpen covering a lot of the game. … Everybody should be able to throw two innings. We want to have a complete bullpen where all of them can give us more than one inning.”

There are certain exceptions, such as closer Camilo Doval and the set-up Rogers twins, Taylor and Tyler, who likely won’t be asked to record more than four outs. Also locked in are Ryan Walker and Luke Jackson. The rest of the group may, in part, be determined by who can best cover multiple innings.

While they possess the pitcher who threw the most innings in the majors last season, Logan Webb, nobody behind him in the Giants’ rotation has a proven ability to pitch deep into games. One member of their rotation, Jordan Hicks, already comes from the bullpen. Another, Kyle Harrison, didn’t pitch much longer than a reliever in most of his minor-league starts last season, and completed six innings just once after being called up.

In the fourth slot, Keaton Winn and the club are confident he’ll be ready for Opening Day, but a scare with a sore elbow set him back two weeks, so he won’t be ready to pitch deep, either. And, with injuries to Tristan Beck and Sean Hjelle, the competition for the fifth spot is wide open.

“Depending on who’s in our rotation, if we’re going to be careful with some of these guys early,” Melvin said, “then we’re going to need some bridge guys.”

That includes non-roster invitees fighting for a role of any kind, such as Daulton Jefferies, Amir Garrett and Cody Stashak, but also some of their top pitching prospects who have previously been used as starters.

Melvin singled out Landen Roupp and Carson Seymour, both 25, as pitchers who could get looks in the major-league bullpen.

Seymour, one of four players acquired from the Mets for Darin Ruf, started 23 of his 28 games at Double-A Richmond last season, posting a 3.99 ERA with about a strikeout an inning, and Melvin called him “a guy that I’m pretty interested in. Big arm, big breaking ball.”

On Saturday, Roupp made his first appearance of the spring, striking out two over one shutout inning against the A’s.

A 12th-round pick in 2021, Roupp made 10 starts for Richmond with a 1.74 ERA before a disc slipped in his lower back, ending his season. That slowed him to begin camp, so while he doesn’t have time to get stretched out as a starter, “there might be a different need here,” Melvin said, “and he looks pretty good.”

Garrett, 31, has made 322 career appearances with a 4.97 ERA but primarily as a single-inning reliever. He was tagged with three runs in his first outing of the spring but rebounded with a 1-2-3 inning in his last appearance. Along with Erik Miller and Ethan Small, both former starters, he is also competing to join Taylor Rogers as the second lefty in the relief corps.

A torn labrum ended Stashak’s tenure with the Minnesota Twins in 2022, and the Giants plucked him out of independent ball last fall. Before his injury, he had gone at least two innings in 15 of his 55 career appearances, with a 4.13 ERA. In three appearances this spring, he’s yet to surrender a hit.

With Jefferies, a former starter returning from his second Tommy John surgery, the Giants want to be careful. But Melvin watched him take down multiple innings many times when he managed him in Oakland. He has gone two innings in both his outings this spring, striking out four Guardians in his last appearance.

“Certainly Daulton is one of those guys as well that can give you one time around the order, a guy that’s started before,” Melvin said. “With his pitch mix, it could be a really good fit for a one time around the lineup type thing.”