San Francisco Giants: Starting pitchers they could trade for
While rumors and reports have been flooding fans with San Francisco Giants starting pitching targets, one option that has stayed relatively quiet has been the trade market. With free agents like David Price and Zack Greinke available, it is very easy to “funnel watch” and forget about other ways to fill the depleted rotation.
Live Feed
FanSided
In the season-ending press conference, Chris Haft of MLB.com reported that GM Bobby Evans will not just be looking at free agent starting pitchers, but “also exploring trades, promoting candidates within the organization and perusing international markets.”
It’s well documented that San Francisco is in a desperate need for pitching aid with Tim Hudson retiring and Tim Lincecum, Ryan Vogelsong, and Mike Leake all hitting the free agency market. Here is what the rotation looms right now:
As you can see, the Giants technically only have one spot to fill, but two more of these starters are huge question marks.
After returning from elbow surgery, Cain went on to pitch the worst 13 games of his career, posting a 2-4 record with a 5.79 ERA. The other unknown for 2016 is soon-to-be sophomore Chris Heston. Although he displayed dominance at times, particularly in his no-hitter against the New York Mets on June 9th, opposing hitters seemed to figure out the Heston equation. In his final seven starts, Heston was 2-5 with a 6.75 ERA, was unable to pitch six innings in any of them, and was even sent down to Triple-AAA Sacramento in an attempt to rebuild his confidence.
Jun 9, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Chris Heston (53) celebrates with catcher Buster Posey (28) after throwing a no-hitter against the New York Mets at Citi Field. The Giants won 5 – 0. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Clearly, the Giants rotation is a crap show as of now; however, this is why we have General Managers. This is the time where VP Brian Sabean and GM Bobby Evans shines as they seem to always make the right acquisitions–ergo, Hunter Pence and Cody Ross.
Well, they have prospects in top prospect Tyler Beede, Ray Black, who is lighting up the radar gun with his above-100 mph fastball in the Arizona Fall League, and shortstop Christian Arroyo who is impressing nearly every scout in the nation with his play in the AFL.
As noted, they certainly have the supply to negotiate, now it is time to see which players may be on the trade block that San Francisco could acquire this off-season.
Next: Andrew Cashner