Recent success clouds upcoming trade decisions
SAN FRANCISCO >> At his introductory press conference last November, President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi said he hoped the Giants would play meaningful baseball as deep into the season as possible.
Zaidi set a relatively low bar for a franchise accustomed to believing it will contend on an annual basis, but his expectations were realistic for a club that had lost 187 games over the previous two seasons.
For the first time under Zaidi’s watch, the Giants are finally playing meaningful baseball.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to feel like we’re really back in this,” Zaidi said Sunday. “But I feel like we’re playing as well as really the top teams in the league right now.”
The timing of the Giants’ recent success actually makes Zaidi’s job more difficult.
Two weeks ago, the Giants appeared certain to turn into one of baseball’s biggest sellers ahead of the 2019 trade deadline. With a number of players on expiring contracts, including ace Madison Bumgarner
and All-Star closer Will Smith, the Giants were poised to overhaul their farm system by dealing away several veteran assets.
It’s possible — and still likely — the Giants (40-48) will trade many of their best players ahead of this year’s deadline, but determining a course of action for the next three weeks is increasingly challenging for Zaidi.
“If we can continue to play well over these next couple of weeks, then some of the narratives that are out there about what we might do at the trade deadline are probably going to conflict with that goal to keep pushing on in a season where we still hope to accomplish some things,” Zaidi said.
Since June 1, the Giants are 18-14 and over the past nine days, an offense that struggled miserably for the first two months of the season has averaged more than seven runs a game. The Giants trail nine teams in the National League wild-card race, but they’re only six games behind the two clubs at the top of the pack.
The Giants’ clubhouse and fan base have been re-energized by the play of younger assets like Shaun Anderson, Tyler Beede and Austin Slater plus the addition of power-hitting outfielder Alex Dickerson. If Zaidi begins trading away the team’s top veterans during the most exciting stretch of the season, he’ll risk alienating the remaining players and a rather large segment of fans.
Zaidi said he expects trade discussions to pick up during the All-Star break as executives around the league hurry to buy and sell ahead of the universal July 31 trade deadline. After Major League Baseball eliminated the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline, Zaidi indicated he feels more teams will be motivated to swap players and prospects in late July.
It may be difficult for Zaidi to initially justify trading away pitchers like Bumgarner and Smith, but the Giants believe there are a number of prospects at Triple-A deserving of promotions. Left-hander Conner Menez could take Bumgarner’s slot in the rotation, reliever Sam Selman could earn a bullpen job if Smith is dealt, and others like corner infielder Zach Green and outfielder Chris Shaw could fill other potential vacancies if they arise.
“We’re looking at our Triple-A team and there’s a lot of guys there playing well that are deserving of opportunities,” Zaidi said. “That may make it easier to make a baseball move off the major league roster, knowing that we have someone to come in behind them and keep us competitive in 2019.”
Zaidi mentioned the trade the Giants made for Kevin Pillar in April as the type of deal the franchise could be interested in making later this month. The Giants gave up two expendable players — Derek Law and Alen Hanson — and pitching prospect Juan De Paula to acquire a veteran outfielder who joined the major league roster immediately.
It’s unrealistic for the franchise to be a true buyer at this year’s deadline, but Zaidi hinted that the prospects he would target in trades would be advanced players who already have limited major league experience or are nearly ready for their first taste of big league action.
The Giants are thrilled with the development of some of their top prospects at low levels in the minors this year, so adding to a future core with players who can contribute sooner rather than later makes sense for an organization that hopes to continue its recent run of playing meaningful baseball.
Developing a firm strategy for this year’s trade deadline may not be as easy as it once was for Zaidi and the rest of the Giants’ front office, but they understand that’s not a terrible problem to have.
“People talk about some of these decisions like they’re very black and white and that we’re up against a wall, and we don’t feel that way at all,” Zaidi said. “It’s always a good feeling that you have players that other teams want, but that usually means that you want them yourself.”