The Giants were unable to sign Mike Fiers last week, losing him to the Oakland A’s on a 2-year, $14.1 million deal. He was, by any measure, the second-biggest free agent the Giants have been linked to this offseason and besides Farhan Zaidi’s flirtation with Yusei Kikuchi, an indicator of how the 2019 team will be built: through retreads and the scrap heap.
Fiers had a 3.56 ERA in 172 innings (24th-best in MLB, just 0.01 ahead of Derek Holland), but a FIP of 4.75 (5th-worst in MLB among qualified starters).