When the San Francisco Giants officially announced they signed left-handed reliever Jake McGee to a two-year deal with a club option for the 2023 season Wednesday, it gave them a potential front-runner for a closer job that’s up for grabs this spring.

“He’s a nice candidate to close games for us,” manager Gabe Kapler said after the Giants’ first spring workout in Scottsdale. “Based on how many strikes he threw last year, how many bats he missed, he just did the things you expect out of a late inning guy like miss bats and throw strikes. He’s dependable, he’s been doing this for a really long time.”

McGee’s addition also gave the Giants another southpaw who relies heavily on a four-seam fastball for success.

McGee joined a staff that already includes Caleb Baragar, who emerged as a consistent option of the bullpen for the Giants as a rookie last season thanks in large part to a fastball with a spin rate that ranked in the 92nd percentile of all major league pitchers.

Baragar threw his fastball 74.5% of the time last season and didn’t allow a run from August 16 through the end of the season. In his final 16 appearances, the rookie left-hander picked up 14 strikeouts and only allowed seven hits as he was a catalyst behind the bullpen’s second half success.

What made Baragar, who was fairly predictable, so tough on hitters? A fastball that he said in the past has 21-to-22 inches of vertical break.

“My release height is pretty low, especially for how tall I am,” Baragar explained on Opening Day last summer. “I get down the mound pretty well, and I have good extension. So with a release height being really low and a high vertical break, it almost gives the effect of my fastball rising to a hitter.”

Few pitchers in baseball threw their fastball more often than Baragar. No one came remotely close to throwing a fastball as much as McGee.

In 24 games with the Dodgers last season, the left-hander tossed 320 fastballs and just 10 sliders. Hitters knew exactly what was coming, yet McGee still posted a 2.66 ERA and struck out a career-high 14.6 batters per nine innings.

What might surprise fans about McGee is his fastball only ranked 47th percentile among major league pitchers in spin rate last season, but he said Wednesday he’s able to keep hitters’ barrels away from the ball because his version of the pitch breaks both horizontally and vertically.

McGee said he’s made visits up to Driveline Baseball in Washington during the last few offseasons to better understand how to maximize the effectiveness of his fastball, but noted that a Giants coaching staff that’s “at the forefront” of incorporating analytics into their teaching methods should help him continue to learn the benefits of having horizontal and vertical movement.

“The game is evolving analytically with all of the spin and the craziness with that and if you don’t learn that, it’s going to be part of everything else,” McGee said.

Having a pair of left-handers who mostly throw mid-90s fastballs might seem redundant for the Giants, but the pitches have different spin characteristics and don’t move the same way. Opposing hitters may not see both pitchers near the end of games, either.

Kapler announced Wednesday that Baragar asked for and will receive the opportunity to be evaluated as a starting pitcher this spring. With the Giants shy on left-handed rotation options and Baragar only one year removed from an excellent season as a member of the Double-A Richmond starting staff, the club is eager to see what he can accomplish if he’s able to use his curveball and slider effectively.

It’s possible the experiment won’t work and Baragar will end up back in the bullpen, but for now, the Giants are excited to see if he can provide some much-needed rotation depth.

Cueto wants to pitch more

It was no secret Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto wanted to pitch deeper into games last season, but the veteran right-hander struggled with location, finished 2020 with a 5.40 ERA and didn’t appear to see eye-to-eye with Kapler.

On the first day of spring training, Cueto again announced he wants the chance to pitch deeper into games and is hopeful that the coaching staff will be receptive to the idea now that he’s an extra year removed from an August, 2018 Tommy John surgery.

“As you all know, as a starting pitcher, we want to throw as many innings as possible, but I’m not 100% sure what the plan is with the manager,” Cueto said through Spanish-language translator Erwin Higueros.

After throwing just 63 1/3 innings last season, Cueto made initial plans to pitch in winter ball at home back in the Dominican Republic, but Kapler and Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi advised against it.

“I wanted to pitch for the Dominican and the fans, but I understand it’s the best for the team not to pitch,” Cueto said.

As the 35-year-old enters the final season of his six-year, $130 million contract with the Giants, the team is counting on him to throw every fifth day. The Giants should have their best roster since Cueto’s first year with the club when he started the All-Star Game for the National League and will need him to bounce back from a rough season to fortify a rotation that includes several other pitchers including Kevin Gausman and Anthony DeSclafani who can become free agents next winter.

Giants hold first bullpens

Kapler said he spent most of Wednesday’s workout watching pitchers throw bullpens, including right-hander Logan Webb who was a clear standout from the day. One assistant said Webb had the best bullpen of any pitcher and the Giants are hopeful that with improved command in 2021, a starter who is just 24 years old will be able to realize more of his impressive potential.

“It’s arm speed, it’s power, it’s a plus-changeup and it’s a sinker and a cutter mix that leads to a lot of weak contact,” Kapler said of what intrigues him about Webb. “I think our pitching coaches are excited about him.”

Here’s the list of Giants pitchers who threw bullpens Wednesday: Matt Wisler, Tyler Rogers, Anthony DeSclafani, Kevin Gausman, Logan Webb, Caleb Baragar, Anthony Banda, Kervin Castro, Trevor Gott, Wendy Peralta, Silvino Bracho, Dedniel Núñez.

New numbers

For fans interested in jersey numbers, here’s a list of all the new members of the 40-man roster and which numbers they’ll be wearing this season:

  • Tommy La Stella: 18
  • LaMonte Wade, Jr: 31
  • Curt Casali: 2
  • John Brebbia: 59
  • Alex Wood: 57
  • Matt Wisler: 37
  • Jake McGee: 17
  • Anthony DeSclafani: 26
  • Dedniel Núñez: 43
  • Jason Vosler: 32

Some fans pointed out on social media that La Stella, the Giants’ newest infielder, is wearing Matt Cain’s old number. The Giants haven’t been able to keep Cain’s No. 18 out of the rotation over the past few years as Connor Joe donned the number in 2019 and Drew Smyly wore it last year.

No player has worn No. 55 since Tim Lincecum last pitched for the Giants and Madison Bumgarner’s No. 40 also has not been assigned.

Extra notes

  • Kapler said Buster Posey will likely get 50-to-60 at-bats this spring and he’s already begun mapping out which games Posey will appear in during Cactus League play.
  • Both Kapler and Posey spoke highly of Anthony DeSclafani’s bullpen session. Posey said he threw strikes on both sides of the plate and located all four of his pitches well.
  • Minor league free agent signee Nick Tropeano will enter spring training with a chance to start games, but he could eventually help the Giants as a long reliever. Kapler said Giants pitching coach Andrew Bailey spoke highly of Tropeano after working with him with the Angels in 2019.
  • The Giants have not yet officially announced the signing of right-handed starter Aaron Sanchez, who agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the club on Tuesday evening. Sanchez has to pass a physical before joining the team. He missed the entire 2020 season while recovering from shoulder surgery.
  • Right-handed reliever John Brebbia played catch on the outfield grass at Scottsdale Stadium a few hours after being placed on the 60-day injured list. Brebbia had Tommy John surgery in June, 2020 and will remain on a throwing program for the next two months.
  • Right-handed pitcher Melvin Adon underwent offseason shoulder surgery after injuring himself while pitching in winter ball. Adon will not be a participant in major league spring training.