What Should the Giants Look For In Their Deadline Returns?
As one of the few clear sellers in Major League Baseball, Buster Posey and the Giants should have one priority in every trade return.
The San Francisco Giants have been the most obvious sellers through the first four months of the season. While there were real playoff aspirations with this roster, they have been one of the biggest disappointments across the entire league.
It’s been a disappointing enough year that names like Luis Arraez, Robbie Ray, and others have been in trade conversations since what feels like the middle of April. Now, we’re just days away from that alarm going off on August 3 and teams no longer having the opportunity to bolster their rosters for the remainder of the season.
However, in the Giants’ case, they’re looking to maximize their returns in order to better the future of the organization.
They already got things started bright and early this morning, shipping Arraez and reliever Caleb Kilian to the Phillies. Right from the get-go, it’s clear the Giants’ front office is looking to address a glaring need within the organization.
Here’s what they should be focusing on.
A Clear Need
The Giants have an expensive core of Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Jung Hoo Lee that suggests they should be trying to compete now.
With Arraez already out the door, Ray is likely the next name to go. However, they likely won’t receive a mind-boggling return for the southpaw given that he is a rental.
Recent reports indicate that Lee is likely staying put, and Casey Schmitt going down with a torn meniscus to end his breakout season basically guarantees he’s a Giant past the deadline. This leaves a small group of valuable guys that could get the club something of significance.
Heliot Ramos stands out, especially in a market that is lacking controllable, above-average bats and several teams needing exactly that. Bullpen arms like Keaton Winn and Erik Miller could absolutely fetch San Francisco something by Monday’s ticker thanks to their stuff and several years of control.
Buster Posey could also get creative with some of the Giants’ bigger contracts if they want to maximize their return.
However, one thing is obvious: pitching needs to be the focus.
The Giants have arguably the most improved farm system in baseball over the past year and a half. Unfortunately, virtually none of that is thanks to highly-touted pitching prospects.
Prior to the draft, the system’s top two arms — Keyner Martinez and Jacob Bresnahan — were in Low-A and High-A. Outside of them, there’s zero top-end pitching talent anywhere close to the big leagues.
Carson Whisenhunt will get a look through the end of the season and Blade Tidwell, Joe Whitman, and Matt Wilkinson offer some intrigue, but them being huge difference makers at the big-league level as starters feels like a stretch.
Trevor McDonald showed flashes of a solid starter this year, but he is about to undergo UCL surgery, most likely taking him out until 2028.
This led to them taking Jackson Flora with the fourth overall selection in this month’s draft. However, the majority of the other arms taken in their class are either prep arms with years of development in their future or guys that profile as relievers long-term.
Heading into the 2027 season, San Francisco only has two surefire options locked into their rotation. Logan Webb is obviously the ace, but Landen Roupp is ideally a three or four in the rotation of a contending team.
With Webb’s contract being up after the 2028 season, the Giants only have two more seasons to try and win with him at the helm of their rotation. Heading into a winter with a completely underwhelming free-agent class and the unknown of an impending lockout, acquiring starting pitching talent feels like a non-negotiable for this front office.
Once Emerson Hancock was reportedly made available, it’s easy to assume he piqued the interest of Posey and company. That type of return is one that makes the most sense with the Giants’ current situation.
Naturally, a lot has to go right for arms like that to end up in San Francisco, and this front office will have to maneuver the market correctly to do so. It’s fair to wonder whether they’ll be able to do that after some of the questionable moves they made heading into this season.
It appears they did fairly well at last year’s deadline, and names like Mike Yastrzemski, Tyler Rogers, and Camilo Doval almost surely didn’t have the value on that market that Ray and potentially Ramos have on this year’s.
At the end of the day, Posey is going to acquire the best players and prospects he possibly can before Monday’s deadline. However, if he wants to maximize this current iteration of the Giants’ chances of winning within the next few years, pitching that can help the big-league club right now should be at the top of his wishlist.
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Michael Monreal got his start in baseball media when he started his own website covering the San Francisco Giants after playing two years of college baseball.…