The Giants have quietly posted a respectable 15-10 record over their last 25 games, and have moved to 5.5 games behind the Phillies for the last NL wild card slot. While San Francisco is still ahead of only the Mets and Marlins in the overall National League standings, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he “wouldn’t rule out” being a deadline buyer. “I still think there could be opportunities for us to trade away younger players for guys who can help us now….I think the most important thing for us in this period is to maintain flexibility and our own open-mindedness over what makes the most sense as we get close to that July 31 deadline,” Zaidi said.
Needless to say, this would be rather a surprising turn of events given that speculation has swirled for months that the Giants would look to unload some of their veteran players. Still, while Zaidi’s comments could simply be construed as a negotiating tactic, the fact remains that with over three weeks until the deadline, the Giants are at least technically close enough that the front office is open to options.
Even when it comes to potentially being sellers, Zaidi noted “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 long-term interest. Like every other team out there we’re in an evaluation period.”
It should be noted that Zaidi’s stance about the Giants’ shorter-term plans hasn’t much changed since he took their front office job last November. Both he and club ownership have expressed a desire to get San Francisco back into contention as quickly as possible, and while both sides have said they’re open to a rebuild if necessary, they also haven’t really committed to such a plan. Having to leapfrog at least eight teams just to grab a wild card berth doesn’t exactly scream full-fledged “contention,” though given the amount of parity in the National League this season, it could be the Giants see a genuine opportunity to make a run if they keep playing well and at least a few other clubs fall by the wayside in July.
The Giants’ best trade chips are well-known — pending free agents Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith, Pablo Sandoval, and (via a player option that seems a lock to be declined) Tony Watson. Sam Dyson is controlled through 2020 via arbitration, but could also draw a lot of attention come the deadline. If the Giants are actually within striking distance of a wild card in late July, Zaidi could try to thread the needle and be both a buyer and a seller at the deadline, dealing one or more of the expiring contracts while also acquiring another short-term asset to help the 2019 squad.
Oh man a deadline buying spree is going to set the Giants back a few years. Hope that’s not truly in his mind.
Likely just posturing like what Cashman and most GM’s usually do. To get maximum value back they usually keep a poker face on or misdirect and deflect from their true intentions.
Agreed JBigz, see Pittsburgh last July
jbigz12 is one of those people that believe sf giants were going to win 120 games this year. He also believes that they would be in World Series every year.
Vincent, you’re kind of a D***. Take your pessimistic comments elsewhere. Troll.
Yeah Vinny, I had the giants pegged as a 140 game winner. I thought Buster Posey and Evan Longoria would finish 1-2 in the MVP race…
Their recent record is probably exactly what he’d like to see. It plays right into his posture of appearing as a buyer. The second he appears as a seller he creates a ceiling to what he might get. He has to wait as as long as he can as value is NOT set by worth but by a combination of needs, what’s available on the market and what your competition is. Time or better put, diminishing time is an accelerant. He not only needs to get max value but get someone to overpay. That wasn’t going to happen in spring training and not even now. However even if he does get a great “deal” its no guarantee. Can’t miss minor leaguers sometimes do miss, Remember Gary Brown. Analytics also is not the Bible. I have a Bill James book where he looks at the Giants outfield of Bonds, Maddox and Davis. He gave an in depth view on Davis and proclaimed he’d have a short MLB career. Uh, 19 years, 3 All Star games and over a dozen years as a hitting instructor. I’d say he was wrong. So no one is perfect.
I agree. If Farhan buys this team is done. They need to sell no matter what. This team ain’t making the playoffs
If Farhan screws up this trade deadline I will have zero faith in his ability to run a baseball team.
This is a stupid comment. He’s been part of running successful baseball teams for years, and whatever prospects he acquires won’t pan or wash out for a couple years. Your comment is stupid.
If he buys it’s almost certainly because ownership made him. He’s a smart dude and that’s not a smart decision.
Zaidi isn’t dumb. He knows this team isn’t playoff worthy but he can’t come right out and say it. He is 100% still looking to sell IMO. If he can acquire young controllable talent and keep the illusion of contending alive while also shipping off Bumgarner and Smith and others then he will.
It would be a major shock if Bumgarner, Smith and to a lesser extent Dyson and Watson were all wearing black and orange come August 1st.
Very true, Zaidi isn’t dumb. But he is going to bide his time, still have his conversations about buying AND selling, and see where he is closer to the deadline. If the Giants go 12-5 their next 17 before deadline, and are at .500 and within a couple games of wild card, it will be a tough call to sell with this fanbase. But if they stumble out of the break, they will start moving guys. I think once they get to 5 or 6 loses after the break, they sell.
They have relief depth, but you’re right, at .500 it would be a tough pill to swallow selling everything off. In that case, I’d prefer to keep Madbum and Pabs. Especially with Cueto coming back at the end of August.
Pablo and Madison need to go. MadBum has value and a free agent next year. Please tell me how in the hell MadBum needs to stay. SF is not going to win the div or wild card (9 teams a head ofSF in the WC race). Rebuild,rebuild ,rebuild
There’s enough redundancy in the bullpen where they can sell and still contend. There’s still a handful of previous regime mistakes to be dealt with (see Longoria, Evan) but they can at least move a bullpen arm or two and still have a topflight group
I’m not sure what you mean by “dealing” with Longoria. He’s basically going to sit on your roster until he has so little left on his contract the Giants decide to DFA him.
As a Dodger fan, I sure hope the Giant brass agrees with you.
C’mon people. Zaidi is no dope. He doesn’t drink the “old school” Koolaid® and play a “gut hunch” to parlay the Gigantes into a wildcard run. This is posturing, plain and simple. He’s never going to say he’s in full throttle rebuild mode. It would undermine his bargaining leverage (though most, if not all, of the GMs expect the Giants to be sellers. Farhan is an analytics guy. Analytics should prove the Giants cannot compete with the present talent/salary structure and Zaidi was brought in SPECIFICALLY to address this. I expect Zaidi to trade anyone and everyone if they can fetch a useful, younger, controllable player in return. To expect otherwise is denial. Go GIANTS.
How do you not seller if you are in their position
*sell
Gut this team like a fish. Bobby Evans has left a mess for Zaidi to cleanup. Longoria, Cueto, and Shark contacts are horrible. Longoria is around until 2022, Cueto 2021, and Shark 2020. At least Shark is tradable. The others will weigh down any chance of a big FA signing. Trade it all.
Wow, how many misstatements can you make in one post? Evans did have some deals turn sour. All GMs do, and it’s a matter of luck most of the time. Evans has been with the Giants FO since long before the 3 WS titles, He was with the team for 25 years before being fired, and deserves some credit for those titles.. The FO was a collaborative endeavor, all of Evan’s moves were made at the approval of guys like Sabean and Baer, and some were very good deals.
It’s unfair to blame Evans for the Cueto deal. After being acquired he vastly exceeded expectations, and his contract was a bargain, until the TJ surgery. How was Evans supposed to anticipate that?
Sure Evans made mistakes, and deserved to be removed, but let’s analyze him fairly. He didn’t have a crystal ball, and had some bad luck, mixed in with some bad, and good judgement.
Gut this team? It would be idiotic to release guys under contract, paying them to play for opposing teams, or trade them for pennies on the dollar. This is the perfect example of guys that think they’re smarter than a GM when, in fact, they aren’t.
I agree somewhat with what you said, but some of the deals Evans/the organization made were just dreadful (Longoria!!!!). You can’t just look at the deals that were made, but also the deals that were not made.
1) They traded away Kyle Crick (another solid bullpen arm, but not the end of the world) but they also traded away Bryan Reynolds in that McCutchen Trade. The 24 year old has had one of the best first halves by a rookie in recent memory putting up a slash line of 342/414/536.
2) They reportedly didn’t pull the trigger on a Yelich trade because they would have to give up Heliot Ramos. This one is insane to me. They held on to a kid that may or may not be good in order to pass on an all-star entering his prime. This one burns, imagine an outfield with 27 year old Yelich, 24 year old Reynolds, and any other useful contributors that are already on the team
Do you mind if I ask where you found that about Evans not wanting to give up Ramos for Yelich? I can’t seem to find it, but would 100% love it if I can.
I can’t point you to a specific article or something because it was awhile ago now, but I do remember all off-season that year that I was dying for them to pull off that trade and I remember seeing/hearing that it would need to include Ramos, which they weren’t willing to do. If I do come across something, I’ll send it your way.
How about Kole Calhoun and Michael Hermosillo for Shark? The Angels take on the entire remaining of his contract. The Giants get a right fielder who has an option for next season and get a 24 year old outfield prospect.
Talk about historical revisionism. Yelich was not an All Star through 2017, when the Giants were interested in him. Up until that point Yelich had a career line of .290/.369/.432, 121 OPS+. That’s a good player but Yelich never made an All Star team as a Marlin. No one had any idea that Yelich would morph into an MVP caliber player. At that point Yelich was worth not trading a team’s #1 prospect. And Heliot Ramos is a great prospect.
I think you’re the one with some revisionism. First of all, any proven major leaguer is better than pretty much any prospect. Ramos may end up being a good player, but how many “top prospects” have failed to even make an all star team, or even the major leagues for that matter? The answer might surprise you. Ramos at the time was struggling to do anything in Rookie Ball. Yelich was a skinny kid filling out his body, but already producing and producing well at the major league level. His average, on base, and power had been trending up for years. So yes, people like me that pay attention and can spot talent (like GMs are supposed to be able to do) did have an idea that Yelich is that caliber of player. Feel free to go for the “best farm system medal” every year, but I’m interested in the major league team and producing a winner. I could’ve just saved time typing all this and pointed out that you quoted ops+ as a valid argument. You can keep spouting off that Yelich isn’t worth it, but fact is you would be fired.
I think Ramos was in Stanton talks, not Yelich
As a dodgers fan, PLEASE buy at the deadline and set the Giants back another 5 years.
Just don’t choke three years in a row if you get back to the WS
They’ll choke long before that!
Buzz, is that really ONLY statement you can come up with? Must be another sour Giants fan that’s hates life so much they reach(pathetically) for anything to say to make themselves feel better. Quit embarrassing yourself dude.
Get out your 1988 Dodgers yearbook. Come October, it’ll still be your only best seller!
I have no problem with Zaidi trying to up the offers on his players, but that’s all this is. The alternative is saying, “we’re terrible, please take our players”, which isn’t exactly the best negotiating position.
He wouldn’t be saying that. He would be saying “we are terrible, take all of our good players”. Because the guys that really need to be moved (Pomeranz, Holland, etc) would not be the ones traded.
It’s really the worse of both worlds. You would have some young players coming up, but only being taught by example by bad players…while other young players are still being blocked or forced to compete with each other. That’s why those kind of rebuilds usually lead to more rebuilding…for an extended amount of time.
He isn’t a fool. He’s going to wait until the last minute to sell if he has to. They’ve actually been playing good enough lately to even question it. I mean, I’m sure he’s going to sell off what he can, but it’s going to be for the highest price he can get and if he can’t get it, he’s not going to do it.
People seem to be really confuse here. There are some players they should and I would even say NEED to get arid of. Addition by subtraction. Unfortunately these players won’t bring anything back.
The don’t need to get arid of Bumgarner. They are far better off keeping him and trying to resign him because they ARE NOT going to get a Bumgarner in return.
They NEED to get arid of Holland and Pomeranz. Stat. Every pitch they throw is one that a young pitcher could be throwing and learning at the MLB level. Neither have a future with the team. They are taking up space. If they can ship our Melancon and Samardzija too, even better!
As for position players, Panik’s time should be up, though I hate to say it. He really needs a change of scenery. And while Longoria and Pillar have been hot lately, the former isn’t ever going to hit well in SF (he’s literally terrible at Oracle Park). The latter isn’t a long term piece. Hopefully both will built some trade value…any trade value between now and July 31st. Tyler Austin was good off then bench for a while, but he’s showing why a first place team gave him up for nothing.
So why not mention Posey or Crawford? Because they aren’t going anywhere. Because Crawford can always hit 8th and be a defensive replacement when not starting. You also need too catchers and they are lucky to have Vogt, who should be a starter somewhere. Though Bruce really has to stop hitting Posey anywhere above 6th unless he really, really heats up. (Which probably won’t happen because he probably is still hurt).
And no, I didn’t forget Belt. Belt will keep on being Belt. And no, I’m not stupid enough to believe a 30+ HR Clean-up Hitter will magically sprout out of the ground as soon as Belt and his floppy size 15 clown shoes vacates 1B. And like very year since 2012, the Giants have too many other positions that need upgrading. And I’ve used and too much in this paragraph.
Speaking of being ‘confuse’, what?
TLDR
as Bill Clinton would say, “ah fill yer pine”
Perfect scenario for Zaidi to sell the idea the Giants are contenders, do a soft buy and fall short in 2019. Then QO Bumgarner. Like other ex-A’s executives or hardened analytic disciples they do what’s necessary to prolong their stay at the helm. This would ensure that.
Too many comments above were too quick to defend Zaidi by saying he’s not dumb. The more people say it, the more I wonder if you’re all trying to convince yourselves of something we all know could be true; that Zaidi really isn’t the right guy to be GM based on the way he has handled things so far.
I’ll say it again: never hire an ex-Oakland executive unless his name is Sandy Alderson. Giants might not sell and that will set them back. Wouldn’t be shocked either.
What are Zaidi’s poor decisions thus far? Pillar trade? He hasn’t done much.
I’d explain, but we know you wouldn’t understand. Maybe this offseason you can work on that for next year.
Way to defend your argument buddy
Yeah, that’s a classic “has no argument” response. lol
That’s Trim 101. Revert to an insult when faced to prevent any facts or data to support his claim.
Zaidi has made zero significant moves because he came into the year w a bunch of underwater contracts and a bunch of other guys he’d be selling low. Now he has a couple guys to move at the deadline who have built up more value. You can’t judge him on anything yet. He’s been on the job for half a season. He inherited a bunch of garbage he needed to sort through.
If Giants play respectable baseball for the next two weeks Zaidi won’t be in fire sale mode. I guarantee.
For reference sake, I honestly do not know what the financial implications of simply making the play-in game are. Are they SO lucrative that it would be worth doing everything you need to do to make it to that game, even if it means slowing up future success? The Giants obviously have zero chance of catching the Dodgers for the division crown, so they would be playing for that single game. Even if they win that, do they honestly think they have the capabilities to defeat the likes of the Dodgers, the Braves, and farther down the line the Yankees, Astros or Twins in an extended series?
Seems very, very unlikely to me. I’m a Cardinals fan, and I’d say pretty much the exact same thing if this piece had been written about the Cards. The Central is so bizarre this year that I suppose they have an outside chance of winning the division… but not enough of a chance that I think the Cards should be buyers this season.
How deep the purge goes is the question for Farhan. Look at the last offseason, Giants have been prepping to sell off at the deadline. The only lock to go is Will Smith. One of the top relievers in baseball from the left side on an affordable contract? Every contender will be interested. Media & Fans speculate MadBum will get moved but he’s not going to generate any massive return. Simply put he’s not an ace, and teams will gravitate to the controllable starters unless he gets on fire in his next 3-4b starts. Best fit is probably the Braves or Cardinals.
Tony Watson isn’t a high leverage arm for a world series team, he’s a piece to a bullpen puzzle. Even with his rebound, are we really envisioning a top prospect for Sandoval? Maybe the cash strapped Rays send over a spare bullpen piece that’s got a few Yrs of control left.
Sumardzija could get dealt for another bad contract- but why? The real intrigue is on the aging core. Won’t have suitors for Belt-Longoria at their salaries, but eating money could facilitate a trade or contract swap.
Intrigued on controlled bullpen pieces. Even if Reyes Moronta walks too many and doesn’t generate enough ground balls, he’s a power arm and potential high upside RP. Bergen fits that mold too, albeit with less upside. Both have 4+ yrs of control.
Sam Dyson is intriguing. Limits walks, solid peripherals and under control through 2020.
MadBum is the conundrum. Big Name with a track record but regressing mightily despite being in his Age 29 season.
Looking at Posey’s deal. Owed $47M through his 2022 buyout. Melancon is owed $14M in 2020. Brandon Crawford is sub replacement level. The idea that Farhan can be patient is ludicrous. Without jumping into FA (which this roster doesn’t warrant) his only near term opportunity to replenish his organization is this deadline.
3rd worst record in the NL, and still only 5.5 games from a WC spot #parity
They want pieces that could “help them
now” … say Maikel Franco, Nick Williams, and Nick Pivetta could probably do that…
Yuck
Nobody’s giving up anything for the Phillies garbage.
It will be a joyous day by the Bay the day the Giants tell Brandon Crawford GOODBYE! He’s put on about 30 pounds that he’s trying to hide under really baggy pants. He can’t hit anymore – WORST hitting ss in MLB, and his fielding is terrible – 4th worst fielding shortstop in MLB. If there’s any way he can be packaged with Smith or Dyson, please oh please do it. Or simply release him. There, now I feel better and can continue with my day. Thank you for listening.
Who’s going to play SS? Panik? Solano? Some AAA guy? Who’s going to take his contract? You going to pay him millions not to play for you? He’s been swinging it better lately. Do I wish he was playing better? Yes but, he isn’t going anywhere so get used to seeing him. Would be hard, if not impossible to move him, Longoria, Belt, Posey, Melancon and Shark. Hopefully, these guys can kick it into gear soon
Panic doesn’t have the arm strength/accuracy to play SS
He’s not valuable just because they are paying him a lot of money. Drop him and move on. Anyone you mentioned would be better, Though I’d like them to drop Panik too.
Crawford has a NO TRADE clause in his contract. He’s not going anywhere.
No Trade clauses mean nothing but a little more negotiating required. MadBum has a limited no trade clause. All it takes is it to be waived. They don’t mean someone can’t be traded.
Does he have a “No Release” clause?
The Giants are a perfect example of how the new hard trading deadline will make things tougher all around, and not just for teams looking for rentals, but especially for teams on the bubble. How long of a playoff long-shot does Zaidi take to not push the reset button?
If they get what they want for Bum, Smith, Dyson, etc… they’ll move em. If not, they won’t. It’s that simple. I’m sure the front office has a list of guys they want from every other organization and what they would accept for any move they’d potentially make. Nothing is going to catch them by surprise. The lower minor league system has a few guys, the AAA team is much better than last year, they drafted hitters, and I just don’t see them moving young talent for a 30+ YO guy to plug in for a wildcard run. If somehow this group is going to compete, the unmovables need to get it going because they’re the ones who are going to remain (Posey, Crawford, Belt, Longoria, Shark, Cueto and Melancon) that core group need to get it going, they are supposed to be the guys.
Nothing is quite so simple. Of all the players they could potentially trade, the only one that gets them a likely return if not traded this month is Bumgarner. Nobody else is getting a QO so if he hopes to get anything for Smith in particular Zaidi really to decide and decide soon if he thinks the team’s playoff chance are good enough to be worth losing the return. Dyson and Watson not so much. They are both controllable for another year.
I’m interested to see if the Giants still tear it down at the trade deadline if they keep winning series and get within striking distance of the wild card. I know all you rebuild lovers out there are crying at the thought of the Giants not calling it a total tear down just yet. Apparently you haven’t watched them play the last few weeks. They have been playing better baseball then I’ve seen them play in years and that includes 2016 when they made the postseason with that garbage of a bullpen (looking at you Law).
Zaidi is doing what he said he was going to do since he has gotten here. That is make one small move after another to make the team better. I say if keeping Bum and/or Smith at the deadline is the best move going forward they can still replace Craw or Panik and have a good team. Imagine the lineup with effective hitters at 2nd and short! They could score some runs and do some damage.
They have offense, they have starting pitching and they have a bullpen. Why get rid of that now to get that in the future?
Dougie,
In a sense Ziadi can hang his hat on the following. There is no way that Crawford, Panik and Posey can be this bad for the rest of the year. Crawford should be a 255 hitter with ten homers and 60 RBIs. Panik shuild be a 275 hitter and actually get on base to score some runs. Posey should be able to drive in at least fifty runs if not 60-70. So even looking at it conservatively, there is no way those three can be this bad all year. We all have seen Crawford and Posey carry the team for a couple of series. I am amazed that Crawford has been this bad. And even with no power Posey should be better in the second half of 2019.
Both Beede and Anderson appear to be adjusting to the big leagues. Recently, Suarez and Menes pitched very well in SACTO. Anyone other than Pomeranz will be an upgrade.
Hey if people need a trade, dump Holland and Pomerance for a bag of used baseballs. Neither have a future with the Giants.
Maybe the Giants get Cueto back in late August or September. All I know is that Cueto was the best pitcher in the majors until he blew out his arm last year. When he got hurt he was 3-1 with an ERA under 1. Heck maybe he only comes back with a 3.50 ERA but it is better that all the starters we have right now.
Look on the bright side.the Giants have only 4 blown saves this year. Sadly 3 of them belong to Moronta.
Questions? Can Longo and Pillar continue to drive in runs? Is Dickerson for real? Can Slater win a couple games with his bat? Is Austin really this bad? Can Duggar get to 250? And will Crawford come back from the break in baseball shape?
That off-season vasectomy really killed Crawford.
Dude, you can not base your comments on the last 2 weeks. Are you out of your mind. Giants were terrible the last three years with basically the same players. They have offense. Look at the numbers. for the year. You need to look in the mirror and say I really need to do my home work..
I can not base my comments on the last 2 weeks? What is this a semester long HW assignment? Your comment doesn’t even make sense. Put down the bottle man.