How the San Francisco Giants can ace the 2019 MLB trade deadline

Longshot: 2B Keston Hiura, Milwaukee Brewers

Don’t get me wrong, Keston Hiura is awesome and I would love to see him wearing a San Francisco Giants jersey.

However, part of the reason this trade is being labeled as a longshot is that it’s going to be awfully difficult to pry the young second baseman away from the Milwaukee Brewers in trade talks. In order to force their hand, the Giants would likely have to sweeten the deal by including someone like Will Smith or Sam Dyson in a larger trade.

There’s a very real chance that Hiura will be deemed untouchable in any trade talks. However, after reaching the NLCS last season and with the window to win wide open, the Brewers might be approaching this season with an all-in mentality.

Hiura hit .281/.333/.531 with five home runs in 64 total at-bats during a brief call-up earlier this season, and by all accounts, he’s MLB-ready. With a 70-grade hit and 60-grade power, he has a chance to be an impact offensive player.

The chance to acquire Madison Bumgarner will no doubt appeal to the Brewers given the current state of their starting rotation. They just played the Giants and were almost swept, with none of their starters throwing well enough to earn a win.

A potential reunion with Will Smith also makes sense for a Brewers team that has leaned hard on the bullpen during their recent run of success.

However, from the Giants standpoint, a packaged deal of Bumgarner and Smith might not be the best way to maximize their value, and that may ultimately be what it takes to acquire Hiura.

As such, they fall into the longshot category.