The San Francisco Giants were one of the teams that were linked to All-Star ace Ranger Suarez, but now that he’s signed with the Boston Red Sox, they’ll need to pivot.
Getting an ace is a top priority for the Giants. Luckily, Fansided’s Chris Landers believes they are the top landing spot for two-time All-Star and 2022 World Series champ, Framber Valdez.
“Valdez is now just about the last belle at the ball, at least when it comes to free agency. It remains to be seen how many years he'll get as he enters his age-32 season, but he should at the very least comfortably exceed the AAV that Suarez got from Boston…The Giants also desperately need another frontline arm if they want to contend for a playoff spot this year, and a ground-ball pitcher like Valdez in that park with that infield defense behind him is a match made in heaven,” Landers wrote.
This past season, Valdez struggled at the end, posting a record of 13-11, an ERA of 3.66, 187 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.245 over 192 innings pitched. However, that could possibly be attributed to a fallout with the Houston Astros at the trade deadline, as before that, he was electric, posting a record of 11-4, a 2.62 ERA, and 141 Ks.
MORE: Red Sox finally make free agency move, sign All-Star Ranger Suarez to five-year, $130 million deal
Plus, Oracle Park is a notoriously pitcher-friendly stadium, and as Landers stated, Valdez being a ground-ball guy would play great there. With that in mind, a bounce-back to his normal self could be relatively easy.
Hopefully, the Giants get on this, as Valdez is probably the biggest free agent pitcher left on the market. And they better believe other teams will want him as well.
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