Next move for SF Giants seems glaringly obvious after Tyler Rogers trade

Things just keep getting worse for the SF Giants. They just got swept by the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates and traded away reliever Tyler Rogers. As the team looks to sell ahead of the trade deadline, their next move seems glaringly obvious.

The Giants have free-fallen to a losing record after putting up a league-worst 13-24 record since acquiring Rafael Devers. Since their plunge in the standings came after an aggressive win-now move, Posey has been put in an awkward middle ground where the team can’t fully count themselves in buying or selling mode.

Next SF Giants move should be obvious after Tyler Rogers trade

Luckily, Posey’s shrewd move of trading two months of Tyler Rogers to the Mets for two decent prospects and an MLB-ready replacement in José Buttó seems to have been the best of both worlds. Relief pitching is highly sought after and prohibitively expensive this trade deadline, as it has been in past seasons, and that just so happens to be the Giants’ team strength.

Camilo Doval has been another arm that lots of teams have called about in advance of the deadline, and he should absolutely be on the move in the next 24 hours if Posey can find a trade to his liking. Though he hasn’t been as consistent as the rock-steady Rogers, Doval has extensive closing experience and has won the closer role back from Ryan Walker after a bounce-back 3.09 ERA showing with 50 strikeouts in 46.2 innings. His high-octane cutter, still averaging just a tick over 98 MPH, has always played well in the back of the bullpen.

Playoff-chasing teams, which the Giants unfortunately can no longer consider themselves, are desperate for quality pitching, as New York's deal for the 34-year-old Rogers proved. Emmanuel Clase’s suspension pending the conclusion of a gambling investigation has only driven the price for late-inning relief further skyward. Doval should fetch an even more attractive return than Rogers brought back thanks to his comparative youth, closing experience and multiple years of team control – he won’t be a free agent until 2027.

The Giants fielded calls on Doval over the offseason as well, but their patience in retaining him seems to have been wise as they’re no longer in a position where they have to sell low on him. If they traded him to a contending team like the Mariners, Blue Jays, or Red Sox, Walker and Randy Rodríguez are plenty capable of each picking up a share of closing opportunities.

The focus for the Giants at this point has to be on reloading for 2026, when they will still have a rotation led by Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, and an offensive core featuring Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, and potentially Bryce Eldridge. Getting an intriguing top-10 prospect or two as well as potentially a controllable starter for the back end of the rotation would help the Giants have less work to do over the offseason, when all our collective optimism will hopefully be renewed.

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