MLB Trade Rumors: San Francisco Giants interested in Matthew Boyd

The San Francisco Giants could now be buyers at the trade deadline thanks to a July surge. Detroit Tigers starter Matthew Boyd is one player who has caught their eye.

A month ago, the San Francisco Giants were 34-44 and on their way to abandoning ship as they looked to sell off any asset they could before the trade deadline.

Fast forward to present day and the team is now one game over .500 with a 52-51 record and just 3.5 games back in the NL wild-card race.

With a 16-4 record in July, the Giants are undeniably one of the hottest teams in baseball. They haven’t lost a series since dropping two of three to the Colorado Rockies from June 24-26.

That surge has led many to wonder if president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi will now buy at the deadline, instead of selling.

A recent report from MLB.com’s Jon Morosi certainly seems to pain the Giants as potential buyers:

If the Giants do become buyers, they will likely be looking for controllable assets, and left-hander Matthew Boyd fits he bill with team control through the 2022 season.

The 28-year-old has shown top-of-the-rotation stuff this year, and with that remaining control, he won’t come cheap. Will the San Francisco Giants be willing to part with the prospects it will take to land him?

The southpaw has worked 126 innings on the year, posting a 4.07 ERA and 1.13 WHIP that would both represent career-best marks. He’s also racked up 168 strikeouts, good for fifth in the American League.

However, he’s been inconsistent along the way.

Boyd put together a terrific month of April, going 2-1 with a 2.78 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. He tallied 38 strikeouts in 32.1 innings and all five of his outings were quality starts.

He followed that up with a similarly impressive month of May, turning in five more quality starts and posting a 2.55 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 40 strikeouts in 35.1 innings.

That’s when things started to go south.

Since the calendar turned to June, Boyd has just two quality starts and he’s given up 12 home runs and logged a 6.10 ERA in his last seven starts.

That said, he was sharp last time out. He worked six strong innings against the Phillies, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out eight. His next scheduled to start is on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners and it’s a safe bet that the Giants will be watching closely.

While the idea of buying is exciting and reaching the postseason in manager Bruce Bochy’s final season after a dreadful start would be the ideal sendoff, the Giants would be wise to tread lightly in their pursuit of Boyd. The Tigers will be asking for a bounty in return and he may not be worth the prospect capital in the grand scheme of things.

Will the San Francisco Giants swing a deal to acquire Matthew Boyd or any other significant piece for the stretch run? We’ll know by this time next week.