Like every other contending club this time of year, the Giants could probably use an additional piece or two. Giants GM Bobby Evans will be on the phone quite a bit over the next four weeks and change, but he’s not exceptionally trigger happy either. Citing the expected returns of outfielders Hunter Pence and Nori Aoki and pitchers Matt Cain and Jake Peavy, Evans explained that there might not be enough room to really make an addition.
“We have to be open,” Evans said, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. “That’s true in the market in general. Our primary focus is depth. You can add depth in the outfield, but if you’re bringing in a big everyday guy, you’re going to be jammed up here. That may not be what you want. You’ve got to be careful what you do.”
Speaking specifically about the team’s pitching situation, Evans said that it’d be hard to find space for an additional arm given that the team has seven capable starters. With Peavy and Cain back in the fold, both Tim Lincecum and Tim Hudson are likely to be bumped from the rotation. It sounds like Evans is hoping that move alone will help bolster San Francisco’s starting five. If Cain and Peavy are not pitching up to snuff, however, the Giants still have more than four weeks to change their minds.
The Giants are 41-35 and 1.5 games back of the first place Dodgers heading into today’s contest against the Rockies.
I could see them going for a fourth outfielder piece like Gerado Parra if Aoki and Pence take a while to heal, but there doesn’t appear to be much room for the Giants to make an addition without releasing guys like Tim Hudson or Justin Maxwell. With a sizeable chunk of money coming off the books this fall and a saturated starting pitching market, I don’t forsee much happening at this year’s deadline (especially if Duffy, Heston, Strickland, etc. keep performing well over the next month).
I think backup infielders are going to be the main goal. McGehee and Arias need to be replaced with guys who can hit at least .250
The Giants need another good reliever, preferably a lefty. All of their “core four” have had periods of ineffectiveness, especially Affeldt, who is now on the DL.
Of all the starters they have, they should be able to come up with five that are consistent enough. All the outfield injuries are depleting the depth on the bench. Hopefully guys returning to health will fix that more than anything.
I agree with Gil that relief, particularly lefty relief, would be the highest priority for the Giants, if they decide to pull the trigger.
The main problem is that the Giants 25- and 40-man rosters has been jammed packed all season long, requiring the team to DFA useful players like Brown, Adrianza, McGehee. And there was really no space to hold onto all the relievers, and so one of Kontos and Machi was a walking dead to start the season, saved by Pence’s injury, and given how well Kontos has done, Machi looks to be DFAed once his DL ends. And with Strickland doing so well, the Giants would need to DFA someone in order to keep him on the 25-man roster due to how many players they have who don’t have options left.
So I don’t know if Evans can even trade for a lefty reliever, as it would require DFAing someone, unless the worse happens, and someone is DLed for the season. Also, with how well Strickland has been doing, perhaps he can take Affeldt’s place in set-up, as he takes cares of LHH almost as well as he’s getting out RHH.
Basically, the Giants are in limbo until they know what they got or don’t got with Cain, Peavy, Pence, Aoki, Affeldt, and Lincecum out on DL and ready to return in the coming weeks before the trade deadline. Once they have a better idea of what they have in hand, then they can contemplate movement on the trade market, I think.