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

Going into the trade deadline, the San Francisco Giants were a team that were in a good position to stay competitive in the National League West. The roster was in good shape and if they just added a starting pitcher of some note, made one upgrade in their lineup, and maybe added some bullpen depth, San Francisco would be in a great spot for the rest of the season.

Instead, the Giants did basically nothing.

Sure, they did acquire AJ Pollock from the Mariners, but that would have been more exciting a few years ago instead of getting a guy with a .535 OPS this year and clearly declining fast. No starting pitcher to beef up the rotation. No actual upgrades anywhere. Nothing. The player pool at the trade deadline was admittedly shallow, but there were moves they could have made instead of basically doing nothing and hoping that reinforcements from the minor leagues will be enough.

Here are 3 moves the SF Giants should have made instead of doing nothing

The Giants' decision to essentially stand pat at the trade deadline with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks looking aggressive and motivated is incredibly risky. Even if it works out and the Giants make the playoffs, the front office still squandered their last opportunity to improve the roster outside of minor league promotions. Little differences in the playoffs matter and San Francisco lost out on some guys that could have helped them.

Let's take a look at some of those missed opportunities with some moves that the Giants should have been all over at the trade deadline and weren't.

Jeimer Candelario would have been a nice fit for the SF Giants

In fairness to the Giants, the position player crop available at the trade deadline was pretty awful. Most of the teams in a strong position to sell at the deadline didn't have much to offer when it came to offensive players and there weren't a lot of rental guys available period.

Of the options available, Tommy Pham made sense on paper but Pham slapping Joc Pederson over fantasy football made that a non-starter. Nationals outfielder Lane Thomas was technically available, but he has multiple years of team control and Washington was asking the moon for him. However, one option that could have worked was another National in Jeimer Candelario.

In addition to being a strong corner defender, Candelario is having one of his best seasons of his career at the plate with an .854 OPS in 2023. The fit in the Giants' lineup wouldn't have been trivial, but the Giants could have found a way to find playing time for a guy that can play 1B, 3B, or DH especially with Mike Yastrzemski on the shelf. It didn't hurt whatsoever that Candelario would have been cheap financially as he is only making $5 million this season and will become a free agent at the end of 2023.

It never got to that point, though, as Candelario was ultimately went to the Cubs at the deadline. The Giants let one of the top pending free agent bats go elsewhere and decided instead that the ghost of AJ Pollock was a better option (in the case of a reverse jinx here, you are welcome).

San Francisco should have made a harder push for Mark Canha

The team that became the focus of the trade deadline pretty quickly was the New York Mets. Despite spending enough money to purchase a small country the last couple of offseason, the Mets find themselves eight games below .500 and without much of a prayer of making the playoffs. To their credit, they did read the writing on the wall and got a haul of prospects for all of the guys they traded away including outfielder Mark Canha.

Canha honestly seems like a quintessential Giants player. Nothing about his game sticks out as uniquely awesome. He just does a lot of things well. From 2018 through 2022, the lowest wRC+ he has posted is 115. Canha draws walks, hits for a bit of power, strikes out at a reasonable rate, and is a passable (if unexciting) defender at all three outfield positions who also has experience playing first and third base.

Would Canha have moved the needle for the Giants a ton? Probably not, but the guy can hit and his versatility would have given San Francisco a ton of options with playing matchups and given them insurance in case any more injuries befell them the rest of the season which is a big deal. Again, there are no more August waiver wire trades. The roster is what it is regardless of injuries unless the Giants promote someone.

San Francisco did not go in that direction and Canha ended up getting moved to the Brewers. Instead of the deadline giving the Giants an exciting opportunity to improve the roster, fans have to wonder what might have been and hope that what the Giants have will be enough.

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