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

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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