SAN FRANCISCO - When a veteran struggles next spring and you want the Giants to cut ties, remember the 2018 season of Sam Dyson.
A part-time closer in 2017, Dyson was so off in Scottsdale that the Giants started to wonder if he could be on their Opening Day roster. He allowed 14 hits - including four homers - and 10 runs in nine spring appearances, but the Giants stuck with him, in part because of his past success and in part because they paid him a decent chunk over the offseason. Dyson turned in a strong season once the real games started. Here are the highs and lows...
What Went Right: Dyson was a workhorse for Bruce Bochy, leading the team with 74 appearances, which ranked seventh in the NL. He posted a 2.69 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .228 average,
Dyson, unlike many of Giants pitchers, was actually better away from home, posting a 1.45 ERA in 33 road appearances. That's one of the few good things the Giants have done on the road in the past two seasons. His power sinker was there for him most of the year, and he ranked sixth among NL relievers with a groundball rate of 61 percent and fourth with 13 double plays.
What Went Wrong: Dyson was right there in line to take over the ninth-inning job when Hunter Strickland got hurt, but he struggled over the next couple of weeks. He gave up five runs over his first five appearances as the Giants were looking for a new closer, and that kept him in a setup role. Overall, he had just three saves in eight chances.
Contract Status: Dyson made $4.425 million in 2018 and is under team control for two more seasons. MLB Trade Rumors projects that he'll get about $5.4 million in arbitration.
The Future: Dyson is in an interesting position. He has made at least 70 appearances three times in the last four seasons, joining Tony Watson, Bryan Shaw and Zach Duke as the only relievers to pull that off. There's no doubt that you can count on him, and he's one of the most successful roster moves of the past three seasons for the Giants front office. At the same time, he has reached a point where he's starting to get expensive for a setup guy, and the Giants are already paying Mark Melancon, Tony Watson and Will Smith a decent sum to handle the late innings, with Reyes Moronta ready for a bigger role. It seems unlikely that the Giants would have both Dyson and Hunter Strickland on the roster next season for a combined total of around $8 million, so this could go in a number of directions. One of them could be traded. There could be a surprise non-tender. Or, a new general manager could open next season with all of those relievers, hope to contend, and then deal a couple of guys at the deadline if this all goes south again.
