Giants retain their roster amid chance for playoffs

Outsiders might poohpooh a 16team postseason after a 60game season, but not insiders like Farhan Zaidi, Giants president of baseball operations, who said Monday that his inaction at Monday’s trade deadline reflected the club’s place in the standings as much as a lack of compelling deals.

“We’re kind of balancing the present and the future, like every team,” Zaidi said. “On our entire roster, we had to listen on everything because we recognize we’re in a bit of a transition organizationally, at the same time respecting, appreciating and valuing we are in the playoff picture.

“The present was a pretty important part of that tradeoff for us.”

Zaidi swung a minor deal for a player who will be sent to the alternate camp in Sacramento, acquiring lefthanded swing

man Anthony Banda from the Rays for cash.

However, when the Giants open a twogame series in Colorado on Tuesday night, starters Kevin Gausman and Johnny Cueto will be in the rotation, and Tony Watson in the bullpen.

The lineup will feature the same cast that entered Monday ranked third in the National League with 175 runs, behind the Padres (205), who went into trading hyperdrive, and the Dodgers (204), who face a highly fortified and motivated challenger from the south.

Zaidi was looking to add a righthanded reliever and a lefthanded bat.

Sam Coonrod’s emergence and Trevor Gott’s apparent rebound from those three awful ninth innings reduced the need for the arm, and Zaidi did not find a deal to his liking for a hitter.

So a team that was not expected to sniff the playoffs before the coronavirus shutdown stays intact for a final 24 games that could send it into the unique 2020 postseason. The Giants started the day a halfgame out of the eighth and final spot.

The clubhouse will view Monday’s nonnews as a statement of faith.

“I think it’s a good move,” left fielder Alex Dickerson said via text. “It may not be exciting for headlines across the league, but we are very confident in the group we have right now, and we just want to keep this momentum going down the stretch.”

San Diego dominated the headlines. Otherwise, the deadline was notable for how few big prospects changed hands, especially for onemonth rentals, and the lack of teams willing to take on big salary commitments for next year in the midst of pandemiccaused revenue losses.

So, moving Cueto and the $27 million remaining on his contract was going to be tough even if the Giants wanted to do it. Zaidi would not discuss Cueto directly but hinted he had no serious talks to move anyone in a trade that had a big financial component.

And, though he listened on Gausman, Zaidi had the injuries to Jeff Samardzija, Drew Smyly and now Trevor Cahill in mind.

“You want to be careful you don’t wind up in a battle of attrition at a position where you have some depth or even some surplus,” he said.

The Giants lost some of their depth Monday when the Tigers claimed Dereck Rodriguez on waivers four days after the Giants designated him for assignment.

Rodriguez was a great story in 2018, a converted outfielder and son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez who posted a 2.81 ERA in 21 games (19 starts) as a rookie only to falter to 5.64 in 2019, amid declining velocity, and lose his spot in the rotation.

Rodriguez did not fare well in limited opportunities this year and lost his spot on the 40man roster when the Giants added Joey Rickard on Wednesday. Rodriguez goes to a team that employed his dad from 2004 through ’08.

“We saw some encouraging things this season in terms of his velocity taking a step forward, but we were still looking for the right role for him,” Zaidi said.

“With our rotation depth, he wasn’t viewed as an essential part of the rotation picture. Ultimately, this could be a good thing for him. We’re disappointed we weren’t able to keep him in the organization, but we obviously wish him well.”

The Giants gained a potential rotation arm in Banda, a 27yearold lefty and a former top100 prospect who lost his 40man spot last week with the Rays. The Giants like his arm and versatility as a starter and reliever and hope that a few mechanical tweaks can help the club.

The Giants created a 40man spot for Banda by placing outfielder Joey Rickard on the 60day injured list with an elbow injury that ends his season. The Giants will replace Rickard on the active roster ahead of Tuesday’s game.