SF Giants: Internal options who make more sense than trading for a player

1. Starting pitcher

While the starting pitching corps has been solid for the Giants, there's little doubt that bringing aboard another arm at the trade deadline would be a huge boost for the club. But what if there was a young gun down in Triple-A that could come up to the bigs without costing the team any high-end talent in a trade?

Enter Kyle Harrison.

The 21-year-old southpaw is widely considered to be the very best left-handed pitching prospect in the game, and rightfully so. He spent last year in both High-A and Double-A at just 20-years-old and has since made the jump to the highest level of the minor leagues. Through 14 starts in 2023, he has been lights out.

Harrison has 47.1 innings under his belt this year and the numbers have been great. He has a 3.42 ERA with a whopping 80 strikeouts already (15.2 SO/9) and has surrendered just five home runs. He's still a bit green, as evidenced by his 7.0 BB/9 rate, but he is doing an efficient job at keeping hits and home runs off the board.

Another option for starting pitching depth is Sean Newcomb, who is in Triple-A on a minor league contract. The 30-year-old has found success as a big leaguer over the years in a six-year career and has been off to a nice start with the Giants. In six innings across four outings, he has 10 strikeouts with just one earned run allowed.

Bringing up someone like Harrison or even Newcomb could prove to be smarter for a Giants club that may not be comfortable sacrificing the future for a rental piece.

2. Relief pitching

When it comes to relief pitching, the market is going to be full of names at this year's trade deadline. The Kansas City Royals have already made it known that Scott Barlow and/or Aroldis Chapman are available, while the Chicago White Sox may be looking to ship Reynaldo López and/or Keynan Middleton.

While there are sure to be names that interest the Giants here as well, let's keep the options in-house, because there are some seriously solid pitchers down in the minors that could be big league contributors as soon as this season.

Chris Wright, 24, is another impact left-hander who has quietly been building a case for a big-league roster spot for quite some time now. After posting an ERA of 1.00 in 37 games in 2021 (yes, you read that right), he had a 3.86 ERA in 41 outings last year and currently sports an ERA of 3.81 through 20 appearances this year. He is a high-strikeout pitcher who rarely ever allows home runs or hard contact, so he is certainly one to keep an eye on instead of an overpriced rental.

Elsewhere in the system, Erik Miller, yet another lefty, is doing everything in his power to earn a callup himself. In 23 appearances this season, he has a minuscule 1.69 ERA with 45 strikeouts in just 32 innings. He, like Harrison and Wright before him, rarely ever allows home runs, and actually has yet to surrender one this season. You won't find Miller's name anywhere on top prospect lists, but he's quietly been one of the most dominant relief arms in the Giants' minor league system.

Balancing things out with our first right-handed pitcher, Nick Avila has put up some incredible numbers over the past two seasons. After allowing just seven earned runs in 47 games last year (1.14 ERA), he began this year in Triple-A Sacramento and has continued to be a dominant presence. In 35.1 innings and 26 outings, Avila has a 3.57 ERA and has done an efficient job at limiting baserunners in his outings.

3. Position players

The 2023 San Francisco Giants have received some excellent production from their position players. From top-to-bottom of the lineup, most of the everyday starters have been contributing at or near above-average clips. That is, everybody except shortstop Brandon Crawford.

The shortstop position is a clear need for the Giants to address at this year's trade deadline, but rather than going for an expensive option like Tim Anderson from the White Sox, perhaps the club could instead promote Tyler Fitzgerald, who has been dominant in the minors this season.

Fitzgerald, 25, has made 52 appearances this year split between Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento. He has 11 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs and 38 runs driven in already, to go along with 15 stolen bases, a .313 batting average and an OPS that has gotten all the way up to .938.

Need I go on? The dude does nothing but hit, and would be a serious asset to this Giants club. Not to mention, he's extremely versatile on defense, making appearances all over the infield and even a bit of center field as of late. Notably, Fitzgerald has spent the most time at shortstop this season, so it's worth wondering if the Giants are already eyeing him as an option for their active roster in the near future.