San Francisco Giants: Potential Trade Deadline Sellers?

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Despite high expectations entering the year, the San Francisco Giants are currently 13-24 and are tied for the worst record in baseball. If this trend continues, would it make sense for the team to be sellers at the trade deadline?

The San Francisco Giants have been a premier team over the last seven years or so. With three World Series titles in a span of five years, featuring teams primarily consisting of home-grown talent, the Giants built the ideal roster and traded for any pieces necessary during the season.

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In 2010, they acquired Javier Lopez, and Ramon Ramirez via trade and Cody Ross through waivers. In 2012, the Giants acquired Marco Scutaro, and Hunter Pence in the middle of the season. Even in the seasons where they failed to make the postseason,the Giants were never sellers at the trade deadline. I left 2014 off this list because the significant signings for the Giants (Tim Hudson, Michael Morse) took place before the season began.

Regardless, the San Francisco Giants have never been put in a position where they may have to become sellers at the trade deadline. It is strange for me to even be writing this article, especially because the expectations for this season were so high. It is not like the Giants even have a terrible team–a lot of the core players on this ball club have been key parts of the World Series winning teams. Something just is not clicking, and if this bad play continues past the all-star break, the Giants may need to start thinking about retooling some at the deadline.

The Giants are in a unique position at this point of the season and the debate of whether or not they should throw in the white flag and become sellers could really go either way. They currently have the worst record in baseball and have not shown they are capable of getting out of this hole, so maybe it is time to think about addressing some of the major holes on their roster. However, the Giants have a solid core group of players, and maybe the best case scenario would be to wait it out and address these needs in free agency after the season. No matter how you look at it, each side of the spectrum could make an articulate argument, and in this article I will explore both sides of the debate.

Apr 14, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto (47) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

The benefits of being sellers:

Like I mentioned earlier, the San Francisco Giants have the worst record in baseball and their offense has been absolutely atrocious. The offense currently ranks second to last in the MLB in runs scored with 117, trailing only the Kansas City Royals.

As a team, the Giants rank 26th with a batting average of .229, and 20th with a .238 batting average with RISP. It is also no surprise that the Giants are not hitting for power, but they rank dead last with only 25 home runs thus far. It is completely acceptable to not have a team built around power, in fact none of the Giants World Series winning teams had power, but when you are not a power hitting team, you cannot hit .229 and expect to win. This lack of offense, especially from their core players, has been detrimental so far in 2017.

Pitching and defense have been the backbone for the Giants over the years and even they are struggling this year. As a staff, the Giants have a 4.76 ERA, which is way too high for the rotation they have assembled. In fact, only the Atlanta Braves have a higher ERA than the Giants. I know Madison Bumgarner is hurt, which is a significant loss, but no other starter has an ERA below 4.50.

The Giants have done a number of different roster shakeups to try and ignite a fire under this team, but nothing is working. From shuffling the lineup, to calling up Christian Arroyo and Michael Morse, moving Eduardo Nunez, and sometimes Brandon Belt to left field, nothing has worked. The number of changes in the outfield this season has been ridiculous and is something that should have been addressed.

Maybe something more drastic needs to happen at this point, like a roster shake up. If the Giants were to be sellers at the trade deadline, now is the perfect time.

Lack of offense and depth is killing this organization currently, and the prospects that are supposed to be outfielders of the future are a number of years away. The Giants have the pieces to trade for some prospects that are closer to major league ready, which could help the organization tremendously.

The main piece the Giants could consider trading is Johnny Cueto. This pains me to write because Cueto has been a great Giant and without a doubt a fan favorite, but he could bring back the biggest return. The reason why the team could possibly consider this is because of his contract. There has been speculation that Cueto may opt out of his contract after the season ends, making himself a free agent. He also said how he wants to finish his career in the AL, which leads me to believe he will not be back with the Giants next season regardless.

If the Giants could get a couple solid prospects in return for Cueto that would be huge. He is a phenomenal starting pitcher and teams would definitely be willing to overpay for him. Top prospect Tyler Beede should be major league ready next season, so he could potentially fill Cueto’s void. The best scenario for the Giants would be if they could trade Cueto mid-season, and then sign him again during free agency after the season ends. I am not sure of the likelihood of this, but it would be legendary if that ends up happening.

Another expendable player on their team is Eduardo Nunez. Although he is having a disappointing season thus far, he still has some value. He made the all-star game last year as a member of the Twins and when his swing is right, he is capable of hitting in the .270-.280 range. Pair that with his ability to steal bases, and versatility around the field and you are talking about a player that some team may want to acquire for a playoff push. The only problem with the Giants is that it just has not worked out, unfortunately. He looked incredible for the first few weeks of the season, but has been in a slump for quite some time now.

The idea of the Giants being sellers is difficult to fathom, but it could really help the team in the long run. The team is hurting offensively and could even use some solid young pitching to compliment the rotation/bullpen. Like any scenario in life, there are pros and cons. Now let’s look at why the Giants may not become sellers at the deadline.

Apr 15, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a baseball on the field prior to a game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /

Why this may not be the best approach:

A roster move in sports is without a doubt a gamble. A team never knows for certain which team the trade will favor. Injuries, veteran struggles, or prospects just never living up to their true potential are all possible after a trade occurs. The Giants could trade someone like Cueto for some quality prospects and the prospects could end up being total busts, you just never know.

I am not saying that uncertainty should prohibit the Giants from making any moves. What I am implying is that just because this season may be considered a “lost season,” the Giants should not feel inclined to be forced into making a trade. Maybe the best case scenario would then be to wait it out and reassess at the end of the season.

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If that ends up being the case, try and re-sign Cueto if he opts out, and address the team’s weaknesses via free agency. The free agent class this coming offseason is decent, especially with outfielders, an area where they struggle mightily. This could be a scenario that favors the Giants, assuming their core players get back on trap.

Team chemistry has been a huge part of the Giants success, at least in my opinion. The Giants may not have had the most talented World Series rosters, but the way the players played together was special. I truly believe chemistry is necessary for a team to be successful. Selling at the trade deadline worries me because some of the players that could possibly be traded are great in the clubhouse. I know it is a business, but sometimes it can hurt a team in the long run.

Next: The Giants are the Worst Team in Baseball

I am not sure what exactly the Giants will do to put together a winning ball club again. The disappointing 2017 season certainly has people talking about what comes next and I think it really depends how the next couple months go. Will the Giants be sellers at the deadline or will they wait it out and reassess at the end of the year? Or will the Giants start winning games like we have grown so accustomed to seeing? Only time will tell.

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Despite high expectations entering the year, the San Francisco Giants are currently 13-24 and are tied for the worst record in baseball. If this trend continues, would it make sense for the team to be sellers at the trade deadline?

The benefits of being sellers:

Why this may not be the best approach:

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