4 SF Giants who just became potential trade chips after Eldridge, Rodriguez promotions

With the SF Giants officially calling up Bryce Eldridge and Jesus Rodriguez, it doesn’t take a big league manager to see that it is going to be hard to get either guy into the mix regularly. San Francisco’s roster is more than a little crowded which is why they may have to swing a trade or two in order to make everything work.

It may feel too early to make a trade, but remember back to last season when the Giants swung that blockbuster trade for Rafael Devers in June. President of baseball operations Buster Posey has shown he’s not afraid to pull the trigger when a change is needed so these four players have to be considered potential trade chips now.

4 SF Giants who could be on the move after latest promotions

Casey Schmitt

Yes, Casey Schmitt is probably the best hitter on the team right now. He’s hitting .308/.354/.519 with four home runs and 15 runs batted in on the season.

Right now he’s the team’s designated hitter and it is certainly fair to wonder how manager Tony Vitello is going to get regular at-bats for both him and Eldridge. They could start giving days off to infielders periodically and move Schmitt around the infield, but the Giants have a ton of money committed to Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, and Rafael Devers so they’re going to give them chances to work through their struggles.

Schmitt has shown he is more than capable of playing any infield position and he’s now proving how good of a hitter he can be. Maybe if the Giants think that Luis Arraez is the future at second base and want to extend him then they’d be open to trading Schmitt to try and get a pitcher. 

It would be an unpopular move but it’s clear that there are too many mouths to feed right now.

Luis Arraez

Conversely, if the Giants decide that Schmitt is their guy at second base moving forward then trading Luis Arraez would make a ton of sense. Arraez has been his usual self at the plate this season, hitting .308/.333/.377 but he’s been a revelation defensively at second base. 

He’s graded out as one of the best defenders, not just second baseman, in MLB and the eye test confirms that. If the Giants traded him to a team in need of a second baseman that would allow the Giants to move Schmitt to second base which would then allow them to use Eldridge and Devers interchangeably at first base and DH.

Patrick Bailey

Jesus Rodriguez may not be a great defensive catcher at this point in his career, but at least the guy can hit. Down in Triple-A Sacramento he was hitting .330/.400/.440 with two home runs and 14 runs batted in.

Meanwhile, Patrick Bailey is hitting .152/.221/.190. His strong defense no longer makes up for his terrible offense.

The Giants could trade him to a team in need of a catcher and then roll with Daniel Susac and Rodriguez for the rest of the season if they’ve finally grown tired of Bailey's ineptitude at the plate.

Rafael Devers

It is doubtful that any team would be willing to take on the massive contract Rafael Devers currently has. Maybe a really desperate team like the New York Mets would entertain it but Posey has to be looking for an escape hatch on Devers with how he’s looked so far this season.

He’s hitting .214/.257/.305 with two home runs and 12 runs batted in. The Giants have to be thinking of a way to offload him while they still can.

If the Giants keep on going the wrong direction, expect some major changes. Really no one will be safe if they start selling pieces off so don’t be surprised if Posey makes a move like he did last season.

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