Even with tepid expectations, the SF Giants disappoint at the trade deadline

Did the SF Giants buy? Did they sell? Did they get better? Did they worse? No one really knows what the Giants accomplished at the trade deadline. Even with tepid expectations, they still found a way to disappoint.

Even with tepid expectations, the SF Giants disappoint at the trade deadline

Giants fans were not the only ones confused. Despite not being a true buyer or seller, the Giants earned a harsh grade for their approach due in large part to a lack of direction.

They traded away Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson to the Atlanta Braves, whereas they shipped Alex Cobb to the Cleveland Guardians. In a last-minute deal, they acquired veteran outfielder Mark Canha in a move with the Detroit Tigers.

Soler had been one of the Giants' hottest hitters prior to the trade. Plus, he had just signed a three-year, $42 million pact last offseason. To say the trade was a surprise is an understatement.

The move does create a clear path to playing time for Marco Luciano. In the short term, the lineup is likely worse off without Soler's bat, but the playing time could be beneficial to Luciano in the long run.

Moving Soler also clears the remainder of his contract off of the books. It is great that the front office is able to move a contract when they feel that it is underperforming, but it does not inspire a ton of confidence when they sign someone in free agency. You only get that get-out-of-jail-for-free card so many times.

It is not a direct line, but the Giants shipped a trio of underperforming contracts in Mitch Haniger, Anthony DeSclafani, and Ross Stripling last offseason. This cleared the way to sign Soler, who is no longer with the club. The payroll flexibility sounds great, but will it be used effectively?

Similar to the Soler deal, the Cobb trade opens up an opportunity for Hayden Birdsong. That could prove to be beneficial down the road.

On the other hand, the Canha move gives the Giants a veteran bat. The right-handed-hitting first baseman was not high on their list in terms of needs, but Canha is a better hitter than David Villar and Wilmer Flores. In that sense, it is a marginal improvement.

The Giants are banking on a rotation that is finally at full strength for the first time all season. There is obvious risk with this, but the rotation can and should be a strength on this roster.

Farhan Zaidi believes that San Francisco has the best rotation in baseball. There is upside with this unit, but it is tough to agree on that point. Of course, if the Giants truly believed in this team, they could have augmented the roster by adding to the team's lineup, bullpen, or defense. They only marginally addressed one of those areas.

The bullpen remains one of the worst in baseball and has been taxed heavily to offset the injuries to the rotation. The Giants' defense up the middle is more questionable than it was at the start of the year and the outfield defense remains a problem overall.

The race for the NL Wild Card is stronger than it was a month ago as well. The odds are not in their favor yet they approached the deadline without a plan. They are hoping for the best but did not take advantage of what appeared to be a seller's market.

San Francisco did have assets to sell and they did not capitalize. Perhaps, moving Blake Snell was always going to be tough given the opt-out. Maybe the front office was waiting for a perfect deal that did not materialize. It feels like value was left on the table.

Plus, a lot of controllable players were moved at the trade deadline. The Giants have a few that they should have considered.

I realize that teams do not see trades as strictly in terms of buying and selling. They see it as an exchange of value. Teams will not sell a player just because they are selling. They need to get proper value in return.

It would not have made sense for the Giants to go on a fire sale and have nothing to show for it. However, there were deals made where teams sold on players similar to some of the players on the Giants roster. For example, the Washington Nationals traded outfielder Lane Thomas to the Guardians in exchange for three prospects. One of those prospects was 2023 second-round pick Alex Clemmey.

Could the Giants have swung a similar deal with Mike Yastrzemski? Both Thomas and Yastrzemski have similar upside and are under team control through 2025.

On a different note, the Seattle Mariners cut ties with first baseman Ty France right before the deadline. With a struggling offense, adding someline like LaMonte Wade Jr. would have been a clear upgrade.

Deals were not made. The front office has to hope that the team on the field can reach the playoffs. If not, the Giants will have missed the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons since Zaidi took over.

The trade deadline could have been an opportunity for Zaidi to show that the team has a vision even if they are still a year away from that vision. However, it was about as aimless as the team has been for the better part of a decade.

Of course, it always felt like this was going to be the outcome. The Giants invested a lot of money into this roster, so selling may not have been a viable option. Nevertherless, the Giants found a way to disappoint even when the expectations were low.