San Francisco Giants: Building a trade with the Houston Astros

With a sell-off likely coming from the San Francisco Giants this summer, Marc Delucchi will go team-by-team for a look at how each contender fits as a potential trade partner. First up, the Houston Astros.

The 2019 MLB season is nearly two months old and the San Francisco Giants are five games under .500 in last place in the NL West standings.

That shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone after back-to-back losing seasons and with the team clearly headed for a rebuilding period.

The July 31st trade deadline may still seem like it’s a long ways off, but with new rules in place that have eliminated August waiver trades, teams like the Giants may be worried about waiting too long and missing their chance to sell.

On the flip side, the Houston Astros have continued their recent trend of dominance.

The 2017 World Series champions have won back-to-back AL West titles and won an impressive 204 games the past two seasons.

It’s been more of the same this year. The currently hold the best record in baseball show no signs of slowing down with a sizable 8.5-game lead in the AL West standings.

Still, the front office will surely be looking to upgrade the roster as they gear up for another postseason run.

The Astros farm system consistently ranks among the ten best in baseball, which gives them plenty of firepower to bring in a game-changer if they decide to go that route.

So let’s take a look at how the Giants’ selloff could match up with the Astros’ needs.

The Bullpen

San Francisco’s bullpen has been one of the best units in baseball.  As reinforcements await opportunities at the big-league level and the team’s closer, Will Smith, is set for free agency at the end of the year, they look poised to be active players on the relief pitcher market.

Aside from Smith, Nick Vincent, Sam Dyson, and Tony Watson are other middle relief/setup options that don’t factor into the team’s long-term plans and could presumably help a contender.

However, the Astros don’t have a particular hole in their bullpen.

In fact, their unit is one of the few superior to the Giants’ pen in every statistical category. Houston’s relievers have the leagues best ERA, FIP, and xFIP. Roberto Osuna has been a dominant closer, while Will Harris, Ryan Pressly, and Hector Rondon have all been excellent in high-leverage roles.

Obviously, Smith would improve the Astros’ bullpen, but there are many other contenders in bigger need of bullpen help that will be desperate enough to offer up more from a prospect standpoint.

The Ace

When you’re the best team in baseball, there is only so much room for improvement.

The Astros starters rank among the best in baseball, but starting pitching is one thing that can move the needle. Recently promoted top prospect Corbin Martin could potentially form a dominant three-headed monster with veterans Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, but there’s a limit to what can reasonably be expected from a 23-year old rookie.

This is where longtime Giants’ ace Madison Bumgarner comes in.

He’s capable of helping every contender for two reasons. First, he is surely better than at least one starter in every rotation. Second, and perhaps most importantly, while the Astros may not feel a need to upgrade their rotation, acquiring Bumgarner would keep him away from potential competitors.

Bumgarner did place the Astros as one of the teams on his limited no-trade clause. However, that only serves to extract extra compensation from the Giants, not to keep him away from Houston. If the Astros make the best offer, they’ll get him.

The Astros system definitely has the necessary talent to acquire Bumgarner, but finding a match is a bit more difficult.

Right-handers Forrest Whitley and Corbin Martin and outfielders Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez are all good enough to get a deal done by themselves. It’s unlikely Houston would consider moving any of them for a rental, though. Even Bumgarner.

So where does that leave us?