After yet another rough outing, the SF Giants are firmly at a crossroads with Justin Verlander. They are going to have to make a decision soon on his future with the team as they try to make their rotation as strong as possible.
In his start against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, Verlander gave up nine hits and four earned runs in 2 and 2/3 innings of work. It was ugly and really makes one wonder if Verlander has anything left in the tank.
SF Giants are at a crossroads with Justin Verlander
A few weeks ago on July 4th after Verlander got knocked around by the A’s, it was clear the Giants were facing an uncomfortable reality with the 42-year-old veteran. That reality only grows more pronounced now with every poor Verlander start ahead of the July 31st trade deadline.
On the season, Verlander has a record of 0-8 with a 4.99 ERA in 16 starts and 79 and 1/3 innings pitched. He has a 1.51 WHIP with 67 strikeouts compared to 28 walks.
To be fair, Verlander has been the victim of bad luck at times this year. But overall, he just has not been cutting it which is why the Giants may lose patience with Verlander very soon.
Verlander should make two more starts before the trade deadline so those may be his last two chances to prove that he can be a part of this team’s second half plans.
Maybe the Giants could afford to have a weak link in their rotation if they had a juggernaut of an offense that could bail out a pitcher like that. But the Giants have a terrible offense that can barely win games even when their starters go out and throw gems so they really cannot afford to have a weak link like Verlander taking the ball every fifth day.
There are a number of interesting starting pitching trade targets out there for the Giants, from pitchers who have connections to manager Bob Melvin, to players on NL West teams, to a San Francisco native. All of them would make the rotation better so we will have to see how aggressive president of baseball operations Buster Posey wants to be.
The Giants do not have much longer to decide how to play things with Verlander. Unless he can give the team some confidence he has a little left in the tank in his next two starts, the Giants may have no other choice than to find an upgrade on the trade market.