4 last minute deals that the SF Giants need to get done before the trade deadline

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The trade deadline is mere hours away at this point and it still seems like the Giants have some work do to. Monday was a fruitful day for them at least as the Giants were able to trade for AJ Pollock in a deal with the Mariners, but Pollock is a much less exciting option these days compared to a few years ago.

Nevertheless, San Francisco finds themselves in a decent position heading into the whirlwind of activity that is expected during trade deadline day. They would probably like to add a better right-handed bat option although they could settle for Pollock and adding depth for the rotation, middle infield, and the bullpen remains very possible if not likely.

However, the Giants are running out of time and if they want to make improvements, some last minute deals are going to have to get done.

Here are 4 last minute deals the Giants could pull off to cap their trade deadline season

The goal here isn't to just pull high profile names out of a hat. It is entirely possible that the Giants are in full stealth mode on some trade targets, but the focus here is going to be on players that the Giants have at least some public connection to ahead of the deadline or seem like feasible options who are also still available as of Monday night. It is unlikely that the Giants would make four trades on Tuesday (although that would be fun), so consider these options instead of a hard and firm shopping list.

Let's take a look at some trades the Giants can (and maybe should) make in the final hours before the trade deadline.

Justin Verlander is an unlikely, but exciting trade option for the Giants

The Giants' starting rotation has been pretty good for the most part, but some weaknesses have been exposed over the course of the 2023 season. Alex Wood looks great when he is on, but he is on less and less these days and his durability is a real question mark. Anthony DeSclafani has been a little better than Wood this year, but he just hit the injured list with a dreaded elbow strain.

As a result, the Giants are looking pretty thin in their rotation especially with top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison dealing with an injury as well. The smart and maybe most likely thing to happen is for San Francisco to target a lower level rental arm to hold them over until they can get some guys healthy. However, one option that has at least been discussed that would be particularly spicy is trading for Mets ace Justin Verlander.

Verlander's reputation precedes him and he is without question the most accomplished pitcher that is potentially available on the trade market. The start of the 2023 season was pretty rough for him, but he has looked much better lately and would immediately upgrade any rotation that he was added to.

The problem with pushing for Verlander at the last minute is going to be cost. Not only would the Giants have to think long and hard about their payroll if they were to add Verlander given that he is making north of $43 million a year, but the prospect cost would also be substantial to convince the Mets to give him up. Getting a package that both sides would feel good about and then securing Verlander's blessing to waive his no-trade clause won't be easy, so this may be a pipe dream albeit a fun one.

Vaughn Grissom could shore up the Giants' infield depth

It is generally pretty strange for two top contenders to link up on a trade, but the Giants and Braves have some common ground to get a deal done when it comes to infielder Vaughn Grissom. Grissom is a bat-first guy who has struggled defensively in his short stints in the big leagues, but he could give the Giants the depth at middle infield that they are looking for without breaking the bank.

Putting together a package for Grissom would be interesting. Grissom is currently at Triple-A, but has also already gotten his service clock started. Prospect for prospect trades can be difficult just because of disparities in trade value when it comes to which level of the minors a player is playing at, but there are some options here.

Given that the Braves are pretty set at the big league level, a package that focused on some lower level lottery ticket types could be enticing to them. Will Bednar is an potential option as the Braves love having pitching prospects to mold and he has some recent draft pedigree. Jairo Pomares is another guy with some tools that the Braves could potentially want to bet on especially given that their minor league system doesn't have much in the way of high ceiling position players.

In any case, Grissom is one of the last middle infielders that the Giants have been directly connected to that is still potentially available and a deal could benefit both sides without much difficulty.

Keynan Middleton remains one of the best available rental bullpen targets for the SF Giants

Given how quickly the White Sox sold off a lot of their trade inventory ahead of the deadline, it is pretty shocking that reliever Keynan Middleton is still available. He has put up a very respectable 3.96 ERA in 39 appearances this season, has a profile that looks very projectable, and is a pending free agent bullpen arm so he shouldn't cost a ton in a trade.

One thing that may be slowing down his market is that he has not pitched particularly well over the last week or so. Teams will want to know that he can contribute for them even at a "discounted for a rental" price and giving up five earned runs total in his last three appearances isn't great. However, his market does still seem to be robust and assuming there are no health hang-ups, this is a bullpen arm the Giants need to target.

Scott Barlow would be a nice buy-low candidate for the Giants' bullpen

It wasn't that long ago that Barlow was considered by many to be one of the top bullpen arms available on the trade market. However, a spike in his walk rate has contributed to a pretty rough 5.35 ERA in 38 appearances this season for the Royals. However, other than the walk rate which is a real problem at 5.12 BB/9, the rest of his peripherals look quite good. It just seems like some command issues and rotten luck have bitten him this year.

The nice thing about Barlow other than his track record from 2021-2022 is that he would come with an extra year of team control. If the Giants are confident that they know how to fix him, he would be an excellent opportunity to buy low on a reliever that could help them the next couple of years.

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