3 moves the SF Giants should have made at the deadline instead of doing nothing

The Giants should have been all over the Jordan Montgomery/Chris Stratton trade

It was widely known that the Giants were looking at starting pitching at the trade deadline. Kyle Harrison got hurt down in the minors right before the All-Star break and Anthony DeSclafani is on the injured list with a balky elbow. This was a team that already had some places they could upgrade their rotation and then right before the deadline, it was at the point where they NEEDED to make a move for an arm.

Conversely, the St. Louis Cardinals had a horror show of a first half that forced them into the unfamiliar territory of being sellers. While their starting pitching staff has largely been to blame, they still had a number of rental starters and relievers that were in high demand at the trade deadline including Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton.

Montgomery had far and away been the Cardinals' best starter in 2023 and was among the better starters in the National League period with a 3.42 ERA in 21 starts this season. Stratton hadn't been inhabiting the highest leverage situations for St. Louis, but he at least has some very nice spin rates along with a few other encouraging peripherals and he has pitched pretty well overall. Both players will hit free agency at the end of the 2023 season.

Montgomery may end up being the most valuable pitcher dealt at the trade deadline for the rest of the season unless Scherzer and/or Verlander turn back the clock a bit. Stratton probably isn't an elite bullpen option, but he would have deepened an already strong Giants' bullpen. Instead, the Rangers were aggressive in courting St. Louis and both players ended up in Texas in a deal that the Giants could have probably easily matched or exceeded without mortgaging their future.