Giants manager Bruce Bochy open to new strategies

LAS VEGAS - With no major additions on the board yet this offseason, it’s too early to predict whether the Giants will improve or regress after a challenging 2018 season.

It’s hard to say whether the club will be better or worse, but this much is clear: The Giants will look different.

The personnel may not change drastically, but philosophies certainly will. Under new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, the old way of operating is far from sacred.

And Bruce Bochy, the longest-tenured manager in baseball, is ready to adapt.

“It’s nice to have new ideas and new thoughts and hopefully we can bounce things around to where we can get creative to help win a ballgame,” Bochy said Wednesday.

Zaidi dropped a revealing nugget of information in a chat with reporters Tuesday at Major League Baseball’s winter meetings when he explained that the Giants would consider alternative pitching strategies to maximize their available talent pool next season.

A year after many clubs including the Oakland A’s adopted an “opener” strategy, or the practice of using a relief pitcher to record a limited number of outs at the start of a game, Zaidi suggested the Giants will examine its benefits.

“We’re going to have to explore different forms of pitching staff construction and whether that’s using openers, whether that’s having tandem days where you have two pitchers each throwing three-to-four innings and taking down the majority of the game, I think we’re going to have to develop a plan for the pitching staff that fits the personnel that we have,” Zaidi said.

The A’s, Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers were among the first clubs to test radical new pitching strategies, but there’s a belief that other franchises will follow suit in the coming years. Zaidi explained that with Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija recovering from injuries, the Giants lack veteran depth in the rotation.

Because the organization hopes to protect the arms of young starters like Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez, the Giants may implement innings limits for certain pitchers. While both Bochy and Zaidi would prefer to have a rotation featuring five starters capable of working 200 innings per year, the duo understands the importance of setting realistic expectations for the staff.

“Farhan and I talked about it last night and I’m all about being creative, too,” Bochy said. “I think any time you can get creative to help win a ballgame, you should do it. I think it’s important that you do stay open-minded. There’s been some changes in the game and of course, that’s one of them. That’s going to be driven by the personnel of your roster. You see where you’re at and in your mind have to do it to give you a better chance to win a ballgame, I’m all for it. That’s why we’re here, to win.”

With several other pre-arbitration pitchers including Chris Stratton, Ty Blach and prospect Shaun Anderson hoping to contribute to the Giants’ major league staff this season, the franchise can ease the workload for certain pitchers as they acclimate at the highest level.

Though Rodriguez enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons ever for a Giants pitcher, he and Suarez are both under club control for the next five years. If San Francisco does not believe it’s prepared to contend for a playoff spot in 2019, there’s value in preserving their arms and keeping young pitchers fresh.

“These two kids did a great job and they got in an area they haven’t been before,” Bochy said. “It’s going to be important we take good care of them and keep a watchful eye on them. Maybe at times skip them a start or if there’s a spot in the game where I can limit some workload, it’s something I’d like to do for them. For their future and for ours.”

Aside from employing creative pitching strategies, Zaidi has also indicated acquiring multi-positional, versatile assets will be a high priority for the franchise moving forward. The Giants’ new president of baseball operations wants to have the ability to give all of his starting position players regular rest and ensure bench players have opportunities to receive more time in the field and at the plate.

Many of Bochy’s players have lauded him for his communication skills throughout the years, but he understands that implementing new philosophies will require him to be even more proactive this season.

“You’ve got to sit down with the players and say, ‘Listen, we’re going to probably do things a little bit different sometimes. Roles won’t be as defined, possibly,’” Bochy said. “But that’s always been the case in baseball. It’s probably a little more common today, especially when you’re trying to get more versatility, more flexibility on your roster and you want them to have a heads up and not be surprised by anything.”

Though most players, including many veterans, will need to grow accustomed to new strategies and new philosophies, Bochy said certain changes won’t apply to everyone. Shortstop Brandon Crawford will continue to man the position every day and starter Madison Bumgarner won’t be pitching after an opener.

If the Giants do need to bridge the gap between pitchers early in games, however, Bumgarner may find himself pinch hitting more often so the club doesn’t burn a position player before the middle innings.

With Zaidi leading the front office, much will change in San Francisco. That’s just fine with Bochy, who is energized to partner with a new boss.

“We all know he’s very, very bright,” Bochy said of Zaidi. “He’s got some new ideas, he’s very creative and into analytics, but he has deep respect for people on the baseball scouting side, the development side. He’s a listener, he’s the man in charge, but he wants to hear what you have to say and he respects that. I think he keeps a balance - it’s not his way or the highway from what I see in the early-go here.”