San Francisco Giants: Building a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers

The San Francisco Giants rebuild is already underway. It has been subtle thus far, but soon major pieces will be leaving the bay. As the trade deadline approaches, Marc Delucchi will look at how each contender fits as a potential trade partner. Next up, the Milwaukee Brewers.

At nine games under .500 and 16.5 games back in the NL West, the San Francisco Giants are already clearly in the “seller” category. We are now less than two months from the July 31 trade deadline, and the market as a whole is starting to take shape.

New rules introduced this season have eliminated August waiver trades of big league players and that could make sellers more aggressive earlier than we’ve seen in years past. Contenders won’t want to miss the chance to add a difference-making piece and sellers won’t want to miss the chance to sell high on their best assets.

The Milwaukee Brewers made it all the way to the NLCS last season, but they still have their sights set on the World Series. After losing a series to the Giants over the weekend, they are now only one game ahead of the Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central. That division race figures to be a dead heat right down to the very end.

They have a powerful lineup with five players that would lead the Giants roster in home runs, and that offensive attack has done a lot of the heavy lifting.

While they have gotten solid production from both their starting rotation and bullpen, the peripheral numbers suggest they have enjoyed some good luck. Only one starter (Brandon Woodruff) and one reliever (Josh Hader) on the active roster have a FIP below 3.60.

With that in mind, the Brew Crew will be looking to add depth to the staff at the deadline, and the Giants have a few extremely appealing pieces.

Let’s take a look at a few hypothetical trade scenario between the Brewers and Giants.