Recent series losses aside, the Giants have found some spark as of late, giving the team — and its fans — plenty of reason to think about the possibility of the playoffs.
So it was great to hear that Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi tell SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio this past weekend that the team will be “aggressive” ahead of Aug.1’s trade deadline.
Of course, we’ve heard that the Giants will be aggressive before — the organization’s definition of the word often doesn’t jive with the fans’.
But if the Giants are, indeed, keen to add from the outside, there’s an obvious need for Zaidi and his staff to fill: Starting pitching.
When it comes to pitching, winning in the regular season is all about the bullpen. Winning in the playoffs is all about the starters.
The Giants have the bullpen right now. They can boast both with the right trade.
Now, the Giants can get in line with 29 other teams looking to add a top-tier starter, but the earlier they join the queue — making calls and gaining traction — the better chance they have of landing a pitcher who can create an impressive troika with Logan Webb and Alex Cobb.
That duo with a Chicago import like Lucas Giolito or Marcus Stroman would make the Giants look like something other than a slightly better-than-mediocre team that’s just happy to make the postseason. They could look downright formidable in October.
Another reason for the Giants to act early: things are looking quite dire on the starting pitching front these days. Yes, it’s June, but there have already been far too many bullpen games this season, and they’re becoming more frequent and normal for this team. The Giants’ bullpen is strong — a necessity in this day and age — but can it manage this sort of workload for the next four-plus months?
The way things currently stand, they’ll need to.
Alex Wood is on the injured list, again — but even when he pitches, manager Gabe Kapler doesn’t seem to trust him much; Anthony DeSclafani was marvelous to start the season, but ever since he dropped a piano bench on his right foot (you can’t make this stuff up, folks), he’s been battered; Ross Stripling is sidelined and needed a cortisone shot for his lower back — you can’t trust that; and Sean Manaea is even less trustworthy, as he oscillates between impressive and game-wrecking.
Between those four and long-reliever Jakob Junis, the Giants might — just maybe — have a fourth playoff starter. At least one of them should be a viable fifth starter capable of helping the team reach the postseason.
But the drop-off from the Giants’ top two to that group is significant and could be the team’s Achilles heel this season.
Perhaps top prospect Kyle Harrison can fill that No. 3 starter void (he just won Pacific Coast League Player of the Week for dominating the Dodgers’ top farm team), but that’s a big ask for a rookie operating on a pitch limit in Sacramento.
No, the Giants should add a bonafide top option to the rotation — even if it’s only for a few weeks.
With the emergence of Casey Schmitt and Patrick Bailey at the major league level (and soon, the emergence of Luis Matos), the team’s stagnant farm system has some momentum behind it. Other teams must look at the Giants system in a new light after a year-plus stretch of it treading water. Call it wishful thinking if you must, but I believe there are trades to be made with this system’s depth.
And Chicago’s two teams seem like outstanding trade partners.
Oracle Park could be just what Giolito needs ahead of free agency. He’s been punished by the tight confines of the White Sox’s Guaranteed Rate Field for years — it’s one of the smallest parks in baseball. So many of those home runs he allows would become outs in the cold, damp air of San Francisco. And with the disappointing White Sox highly unlikely to re-sign Giolito after multiple contract extension offers were turned down, Chicago would be foolish not to make him available for trade.
The only thing driving up the price on Giolito is a paucity of viable pitchers on the trade market — too many buyers, not enough sellers, and certainly not enough healthy pitchers in the game. If the Giants can make early inroads, that could be the difference in making a deal.
And on the North Side of Chicago, Stroman has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season, and don’t forget he praised the Giants, despite not signing with the team in the winter of 2022. He carries a player option of $21 million for the 2024 season that will, in all likelihood, be declined, making him a free agent at the end of the year. He seems like an all-too-obvious target for San Francisco, given that they’d stand a chance of re-signing him at the end of the campaign.
And remember, the Cubs and Giants have made win-win trades before. There’s grease on those skids.
Ultimately, given the positive vibes around this team, thanks to the new kids, the front office deserves the benefit of the doubt.
But Giants fans also deserve to feel like they have a chance to compete in the postseason, should the team make it.
There’s a balance to be struck and, hopefully, a trade to be made.