San Francisco Giants: Building a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies

With a sell-off coming for 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. Next up, the Philadelphia Phillies.

As the San Francisco Giants move into the month of June, the team is entrenched in last place in the NL West standings and nine games under .500.

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.

Furthermore, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reported in an interview on 97.5 The Fanatic: “I’m hearing that Madison Bumgarner could be traded as early as mid-June.”

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies have not been as dominant as hoped out of the gates after a busy offseason, but they still hold the second-best record in the National League.

Despite their record, the team has numerous holes, and Stark mentioned that they are expected to be at the lead of the Bumgarner trade talks.

Unlike the previous teams that we examined in the sell-off series—the Yankees, Dodgers, Twins, and Astros—the Phillies have one of the weaker farm systems in baseball.

However, with the big league club in win-now mode, they are expected to be aggressive with the trade chips they do have this summer.

The Giants have a number of players that could intrigue the Phillies and ahead we’ve put together a few hypothetical deals that make sense for both sides.

San Francisco Giants Trade Proposal #1

To Phillies: 1B/3B Pablo Sandoval
To Giants: SS Nick Maton, OF Ben Pelletier

San Francisco Giants fans have been bracing to lose their ace Madison Bumgarner, but another fan favorite has played his way into a trade market as well.

Pablo Sandoval is just two years removed from being cut loose by the Boston Red Sox and returning to the city by the Bay. Since returning to San Francisco, he has proven to be a versatile bench bat capable of playing third base, first base and even second base in a pinch.

With a .286/.317/.571 line that includes 13 doubles and seven home runs in 126 plate appearances, the 2019 season has truly been a resurgence for Sandoval.

That might not be All-Star caliber production, but when combined with his strong clubhouse presence, it makes for an intriguing complementary piece for a contender like Philadelphia.

The Phillies are looking to add a left-handed bench bat and the switch-hitting Sandoval has been far more productive hitting from the left side (98 PA, .304 BA, .967) than the right side (28 PA, .222 BA, .620 OPS) this year.

They’ve already acquired Jay Bruce from the Seattle Mariners, but after losing Andrew McCutchen for the season, Bruce has now been thrust into an everyday role. Sandoval would also offer them needed help at the hot corner.

Incumbent third baseman Maikel Franco has failed to take another step forward and has really struggled out of the gate. Sandoval would make for a great platoon partner as he looks to get on track.

Sandoval is a free agent at the end of the season and any acquiring team would only be on the hook for a pro-rated minimum salary, so there wouldn’t be much risk on the Phillies end either.

There are really not comparable trades to base a Sandoval deal around. He was once an everyday star but is so far removed from that success that he’s almost more of a breakout player.

In terms of return value, my best guess is that the Giants front office will be looking for a prospect that slots somewhere in the 15-25 rang in their organizational rankings and another flier.

Shortstop Nick Maton is a 22-year-old holding his own at the High-A level. Since being selected in the seventh round of the 2017 draft, he has produced and projects as a high-floor/low-ceiling utility man. The Phillies system has multiple shortstops with more upside and the Giants system is thin at the position in the lower levels of the minors, so this would line up well.

The Phillies system is also deep with outfield talent and Ben Pelletier doesn’t even rank on most organizational top prospect lists. He has struggled mightily at full-season ball this year, but at 20 years old, he has a similar profile to a number of the players the Giants selected on Day 2 of the 2019 MLB draft and he would give their player development staff another interesting toolset.

San Francisco Giants Trade Proposal #3

To Phillies: LHP Madison Bumgarner
To Giants: RHP Spencer Howard, RHP Mauricio Llovera, OF Mickey Moniak

While Will Smith may be the most valuable pitcher on the San Francisco Giants roster, Madison Bumgarner is obviously the biggest name.

Bumgarner would slot into the top of the Phillies rotation alongside Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta while also giving them a southpaw to help balance a righty-heavy rotation.

While Bumgarner is not his old ace self, he has regained some of the velocity he lost over the last couple of seasons and his strikeout rate is up. Home runs have been an issue, but he still has the best resume of any starter on the trade market.

The closest comparison is probably the Yu Darvish trade that brought the Texas Rangers back a top-100 prospect (Willie Calhoun) and two other players ranked in their system’s top 20 from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I’ve always been high on right-hander Spencer Howard and he got off to an impressive start to 2019 at High-A. He has four potentially above-average pitches with a plus fastball and plus changeup. However, he has been on the injured list dealing with “shoulder discomfort” for an extended period of time now and that makes him far from a sure thing.

Another righty, Mauricio Llovera, has a nasty arsenal that combines a plus fastball with legit slider and splitter that gives him a high floor as a backend reliever. His 5’11, 200-pound frame also raises questions about the potential workload he could handle. He’s only 23, though, and holding his own as part of the Double-A rotation.

Finally, Philadelphia fans have been disappointed with Mickey Moniak’s progression since he was selected No. 1 overall in the 2016 draft. He has continued to progress through the minor leagues and is already at Double-A, but still has yet to fully tap into the offensive game that made him such a highly-touted prep.

This package would give the San Francisco Giants three players with some exciting upside, but all carry some risk that should make the Phillies willing to part with them as part of an all-in approach.

If the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies do end up pulling the trigger on a trade this summer, these three proposals could serve as the framework.