SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Community matters so much to Logan Webb that he realizes staying with the San Francisco Giants for the long haul is an opportunity to cherish.
He grew up a baseball nut in Northern California and will get to keep pitching close to home in the Bay Area.
The right-hander from Rocklin outside Sacramento reached a $90 million, five-year agreement with the Giants on Friday that keeps him with the franchise from 2024-28. Webb loves seeing kids in his jersey — he was that young boy not so long ago.
“It was just important for me to be able to say I can wear a Giants uniform for a long time. It’s important for not only myself but my family and especially my community back home,” he said. “I know they’re very excited. There’s a lot of diehard Giants fans in Rocklin, California. This is where I want to be. It’s an honor.”
The 26-year-old Webb is earning $4.6 million this season in his first year of arbitration eligibility and would have been eligible for free agency after the 2025 season. He will receive an $8 million salary next year, $12 million in 2025, $23 million each in 2026 and 2027 and $24 million in 2028. In addition, he would receive a $1 million one-time assignment bonus from the receiving team if traded.
In 2021 pitching his first full major league season, Webb won his final 10 decisions over a 20-start unbeaten streak dating to a May 5 loss at Colorado and helped the Giants to a franchise-record 107 wins and an NL West crown.
“Logan is really the embodiment of the kind of player we want to build around when considering the performance, the competitiveness, his love and ties with the Bay Area, how much the organization means to him as a homegrown player,” Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi said. “So it’s really the perfect fit and we’re just delighted to be making this announcement and look forward to having Logan in a Giants uniform for a very long time.”
Webb went a career-best 15-9 with a 2.90 ERA in 32 starts last year, striking out 163 and walking 49 in 192 1/3 innings. He is 0-3 with a 4.76 ERA this season heading into a scheduled start Sunday in Detroit.
He is eager to get in the win column after a rough start and appreciative of getting this deal done now without distraction for the rest of the season — and it took some flexibility and compromise from both sides, Zaidi said.
“I’ve got to be a lot better, the team knows that, I know that and I’m excited to start showing that. I think I’m really close,” Webb said. “It does show they hav ea lot of faith in me and some of the stuff that’s happened the first couple games is not going to happen hopefully very often. … I don’t think anybody, myself especially thought I’d be 0-3 to start the season but I’m excited to fix that, excited to get back to that winning baseball not only for myself but for our team.)”
Webb is 31-22 with a 3.59 ERA in five big league seasons, striking out 426 and walking 126 in 451 2/3 innings.
As part of the agreement, he will make donations to the Giants Community Fund of $40,000 next year, $60,000 in 2025, $115,000 in 2026 and 2027 and $120,000 in 2028.
Portions of those contributions will go toward awareness surrounding the dangers of fentanyl after he lost cousin Kade Webb in December 2021 after receiving a counterfeit pill.
“I just know how much it has affected my family and part of the reason why I want to get the awareness out is because I saw how devastating it was for my family. I really don’t want to see any other families have to deal with the same thing. It’s a really big problem that’s going on and I think it’s just important to get the awareness out especially to our younger generation.”
___