SF Giants stand pat at MLB trade deadline as other contenders make moves
SAN FRANCISCO — Giants brass, from president Farhan Zaidi on down, have said they believe the group of players in their clubhouse is playoff-worthy, and they made their strongest statement yet Tuesday, opting to stand pat ahead of MLB’s trade deadline.
Among a group of five teams in a virtual tie for three National League wild card spots, well within striking distance of the division title, the Giants will be counting on their biggest upgrades to come internally as they embark on the stretch run. They will soon get back Thairo Estrada and Mitch Haniger, but veteran outfielder A.J. Pollock will go down as their biggest deadline acquisition.
Pollock arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday as the clock ticked down to the 3 p.m. PT deadline.
As always, there was a flurry of movement in the hours leading up to the deadline. But none of it involved the Giants.
Potential middle infield help — one of the Giants’ needs — was scooped up by the Blue Jays (Paul DeJong) and Braves (Nicky Lopez). The Giants’ closest competitor in the wild card race, the Phillies, bolstered their starting rotation by adding Detroit’s Michael Lorenzen. So did Bruce Bochy’s Texas Rangers (Max Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery) and the rest of the AL West (Justin Verlander to Houston, Lucas Giolito to Los Angeles). The Marlins, also in the wild card mix, made the biggest offensive splash of the deadline, adding slugging third baseman Jake Burger to their lineup in a deal with the White Sox.
Not every arm moved: the Tigers’ Eduardo Rodriguez, White Sox’s Dylan Cease and Cubs’ Marcus Stroman — each could have given the Giants a reliable third starter behind Logan Webb and Alex Cobb — stayed put. The Dodgers, having missed out on Verlander, reportedly had an agreement in place to acquire Rodriguez, but he invoked his no-trade clause.
The Giants’ own stable of pitchers — Alex Wood, Jakob Junis, Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling — also drew interest from other teams but weren’t moved. Forlorn catcher Joey Bart also remained with the organization despite reportedly coming up in talks.
San Francisco explored the idea of taking from the back end of its rotation to help the front end but ultimately decided to stick with the current group. The aforementioned foursome (Wood-Junis-Manaea-Stripling) inspired some confidence with their recent performances, combining for a 1.84 ERA over the past three games. Webb and Cobb, however, remain the only pitchers on staff with a proven ability to pitch six innings on a consistent basis.
The Giants’ offense sputtered to the end of July, averaging the fewest runs in the majors for the month (3.3), and will have to make do without any substantial upgrades.
San Francisco (58-49) entered Tuesday holding a half-game lead on Philadelphia (57-49) for the top wild-card spot. Three other teams — Arizona (57-50), Miami (57-50), and Milwaukee (57-50) — are one game back of the Giants. Two more teams — San Diego (52-55), and the Cubs (53-53) — are close enough to have been buyers at the deadline.
The Padres, once thought to be possible sellers, acquired veteran left-hander Rich Hill and first baseman Ji-Man Choi from the Pirates, and first baseman Garrett Cooper from the Marlins. The Cubs, winners of eight of their past 10, opted to hold on to Stroman and Cody Bellinger and even added infielder Jeimer Candelario.
Mark Canha was considered a possible right-handed bat for the Giants, but he went to Milwaukee, along with first baseman Carlos Santana. Canha’s Mets teammate David Robertson was sent to the Marlins, who also added lefty Jorge Lopez in a boost to their bullpen in addition to their pickup of Burger, who has 25 homers this year.
The Dodgers (59-45), holding a 2.5-game lead in the NL West, missed out on Verlander, reportedly their top target, and were thwarted by their second option, Rodriguez. But they already rounded out their pitching staff and bench last week with the additions of Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Amed Rosario and Kike Hernandez. The D-backs, only a game back of the Giants, also had a new arrival from Seattle on Tuesday: closer Paul Sewald. Arizona added outfielder Tommy Pham as well.
The good news for the Giants is that they won’t be without Estrada, their most valuable position player, for much longer. Scheduled to begina rehab assignment Tuesday, Estrada could be back in the Giants’ lineup by the weekend.