1 area that is quickly becoming a trade deadline need for the SF Giants

In early June, the SF Giants had one of the best pitching staffs in baseball with a good bit of rotation depth. Now, they still have one of the best pitching staffs with a 3.49 ERA, but the rotation is emerging as an area that needs to be addressed at the trade deadline.

1 area that is quickly becoming a trade deadline need for the SF Giants

A few things have changed since early June. Of course, the Giants shipped out Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison in the trade to acquire Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox. At the time of the deal, Hicks had been relegated to the bullpen, but Harrison had been throwing out of the rotation.

While that trade clearly upgraded the lineup, the Giants did trade away some rotation depth. On the other hand, Carson Whisenhunt was pitching his way into the team's rotation plans. He still is a part of those plans, but he has pitched to a 6.63 ERA over his last seven starts with the Sacramento River Cats.

The Giants do have one of the best rotation duos in baseball, with Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. It might be a bit presumptuous to ask this question, but if the playoffs started today for San Francisco, who would be the No. 3 starter?

Justin Verlander has struggled to a 4.84 ERA in 14 starts. While his fastball velocity still remains intact at 93.9 MPH, his command of that pitch has been spotty in 2025, with too many four-seamers catching the middle of the plate. This season, opposing hitters have posted a .295 batting average with a .557 slugging percentage against his four-seam fastball, which is problematic for a pitch that he throws nearly half of the time.

Hayden Birdsong has struggled in his return to the rotation, and Landen Roupp could be approaching an innings limit soon. Roupp has never thrown more than 107.1 innings in a season as a pro, and his innings total currently sits at 85.1 for 2025.

Before the Giants even traded for Devers or before Whisenhunt's struggles in Triple-A, they likely needed another reliable starter. That is looking more like an obvious need now, especially after Verlander allowed six earned runs in three innings against the A's on Friday night.

Perhaps, the demand for pitching only grew on Saturday, with the New York Yankees announcing that pitcher Clarke Schmidt is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.Com.

The Giants have not necessarily played good baseball lately, but the lineup is set to receive a nice boost with Matt Chapman returning. That should help the club in a big way. Before the month is over, the front office will need to find another way to help the club, and that is by adding to the rotation.