SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- In 2016, the Giants had three starters pitch more than 200 innings: Madison Bumgarner, Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto. None of them came close to that goal last year. Bumgarner missed the first two months of the season with a fractured left hand, while Samardzija and Cueto combined to make only 19 starts due to shoulder and elbow injuries, respectively.

Cueto is expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2019 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but Bumgarner and Samardzija are now healthy and poised to be key pillars in the Giants’ starting rotation. But they will enter the regular season with notably different expectations concerning their workloads.

Bumgarner intends to reassert himself as the Giants’ workhorse and is aiming to eclipse the 200-inning mark for the seventh time in his career and the first since 2016. As the incumbent ace, Bumgarner won't be held back, and the Giants will allow him to pitch as deep into games as possible.

"In my case, I look to throw 200-plus every year," Bumgarner said. "That part has definitely changed a lot, but I don't think it's any less valuable by any means. If anything, it's the other way. If someone is effective throwing 200 innings, why would you not want him out there?”

But the Giants will take a more cautious approach with Samardzija, who is coming off a shoulder injury and thus not expected to be the innings-eater he has been for most of his career. Samardzija has said he feels less pressure to reach 200 innings this year, as he knows the Giants would be content to have him pitch five or six innings before turning it over to the bullpen, which is expected to be one of the club’s biggest strengths.

“He can go as hard as he can for five or six, with the bullpen that we have,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We have him covered. We want him to come out in that first inning ready to go. Hopefully that helps him with changing the mind-set a little bit to where you don’t feel like you have to be the guy that goes seven innings every time out there.”

Dereck Rodríguez feels he is ready to shoulder a normal workload after a successful rookie season, but the Giants will likely monitor him closely after he threw a career-high 168 2/3 innings in 30 combined appearances between Triple-A Sacramento and the Majors last year. The same goes for Derek Holland and Drew Pomeranz, who have one 200-inning campaign between them and could occasionally pitch out of the bullpen or be used as swingmen.

The Giants feel they have enough depth in their bullpen to adequately support their rotation and cover the gaps on nights when their starters can’t pitch deep into games. San Francisco’s bullpen ranked sixth in the National League with a 3.79 ERA in 2018, and the unit could be even better this year. Key cogs like Will Smith, Tony Watson, Sam Dyson and Reyes Moronta are back, and the group could also receive major contributions from a few newcomers, including Rule 5 Draft pick Travis Bergen and Trevor Gott.

“I think for us to be successful with the composition of this club, we have to have one of the best bullpens in baseball,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said.