Zaidi isn’t feeling pressure to trade
Overseer won’t rule out being a buyer if Giants keep playing well
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi addressed reporters Sunday morning about the first half, the July trade deadline, whether the Giants will be sellers and the prospect of holding on to Madison Bumgarner or even extending him.
Zaidi did not offer details about the organization’s plans, but he did open a window into his thinking as the Giants move into the AllStar break.
Here are some of his answers:
On the Giants’ 4048 record heading into the final game before the break :“I think we’d like to be in a better spot. We’ve kind of been playing catchup after the start we got off to. I would say the overall record is not where we would like it to be, but we’re encouraged by the play recently over the last month, month and a half.
“We’ve seen Boch (manager Bruce Bochy) smile a few times the last week, which is nice, a sign that things are going well. Don’t get me wrong, he still mostly gives me the look where it feels like he’s piercing a hole through my skull.
“Really, the whole staff and the whole clubhouse has been energized by the offense over the last week. Hopefully, we carry it over. We’ve got a lot of work to do to feel like we’re really back in this, but I feel we’re playing as well as the top teams in the league right now, so that’s exciting.”
On where the Giants stand in terms of trying to win or use the trade deadline to help rebuild: “We said through the offseason and even through the season that our goal is to play meaningful baseball as deep into the season as we can. … Some of the narratives out there about what we might do at the trade deadline are probably going to conflict with that goal to keep pushing in a season where we still hope to accomplish things.”
On whether the Giants feel they have to trade bigleague players by the July 31 deadline: “The one thing that I’ve preached internally as we’ve talked to ownership, as we’ve talked through things in the clubhouse and with our baseball operations group is, we don’t feel like we have to do anything, or there are X numbers of things we have to accomplish by July 31.
“When you put yourself in that position, you create unnecessary pressure and panic to do something that is not in your longterm interest. Like every other team out there, we’re in an evaluation period.
“I feel like people talk about some of these decisions like they’re very black and white and we’re up against a wall, and we don’t feel that way at all.
“It’s always a good thing when you have players other teams want, but that usually means you want them yourself. We’re going to have to see how these next few weeks go, but we don’t feel we have any imperatives over these last few weeks.”
On whether the Giants could even buy: “It does feel like we’re in a different situation as an organization. As we get further away from the title run and start thinking more about the next title run, there’s a little bit of shift in perspective (toward thinking of the future).
“I still think there could be opportunities for us to trade away younger players for guys who can help us now. I wouldn’t rule that out. I think the most important thing for us in this period is to maintain flexibility and our own openmindedness over what makes the most sense as we get close to that July 31 deadline.”
On whether trade talk has been more frenetic earlier because teams no longer will be able to make waiver trades after July 31: “Not yet. I feel like it's been a pretty typical earlyJuly, preAllStarbreak level of conversation. I anticipate that over the last week or 10 days it may be more frantic than we’re used to, but so far, it’s been pretty typical.”
On whether the relative lack of biginnings starters make a pitcher like Bumgarner more valuable and worth extending rather than trading: “I don’t even think we have to be that nuanced about it. He’s a really valuable player with what he brings on the field, let alone what he means in the clubhouse and for the organization. That’s really what we’re going to have to evaluate as we get closer to the deadline.”