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.

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.

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).