The San Francisco Giants have signed right-handed relief pitcher Matt Wisler. The deal is for one year and will earn Wisler $1.15 million. The offseason is moving fairly slowly, but this signing is a positive one for a rebuilding Giants squad. Ken Rosenthal reported the signing Tuesday morning.
Free-agent right-hander Matt Wisler in agreement with Giants on one-year, $1.15M contract, pending a physical, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 8, 2020
Giants Sign Matt Wisler
The 28-year-old Wisler had the best season of his career. He threw 25 and one-third innings for the Minnesota Twins with a 1.07 ERA, 35 strikeouts, and 14 walks. The percentage of walks caused some problems, but an incredible 32.7 percent strikeout rate was a huge aspect of a career-best 1.0 WAR. Wisler hadn’t posted a WAR above .3 since moving to the bullpen after the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
The San Diego Padres originally drafted the Ohio native in the seventh round of the 2011 Amateur Draft but traded him to the Atlanta Braves in 2015 as part of a deal that included Craig Kimbrel. Overall, Wisler has pitched in 414 and two-thirds innings with 61 starts. He has a career ERA of 4.95, 4.71 FIP, and 339 strikeouts. Those are perfectly fine numbers for someone whose role has shifted on top of pitching for five teams in six years. It’s entirely possible that Minnesota unlocked something within Wisler’s mechanics that will benefit San Francisco in 2021.
Where Wisler Fits in San Francisco
Wisler will help solidify things in San Francisco to a degree. He moves from a bullpen that accumulated 3.6 WAR to one that was worth just -.6. The Giants have a very underwhelming group of relievers at this time, so their newest reliever could compete for the team’s closer position or work in other high-leverage situations. His statcast page paints the picture of someone excelling at preventing contact despite a few too many free passes. Nobody on the Bay Area team’s current depth chart had more than four saves in 2020. There is plenty of room for Wisler to excel and earn an even more lucrative contract going into 2022 if he stays healthy.
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