Ranking the top 3 early-season SF Giants needs for the trade deadline

Ranking the top 3 early-season SF Giants needs for the trade deadline

2. A bat-first catcher to pair with Patrick Bailey

This may come off as a hot take, but the Giants need to upgrade the catching position, not because of defense, but for some more offensive upside.

For the last year now, Patrick Bailey has been almost a non-factor in the lineup. 

It would be great if the catcher were also a right-handed batter, as the Giants have struggled this season when facing lefties. 

A prime candidate for this would be Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk. He has plenty of power and is a right-handed batter. Patrick Bailey would still have to start behind the plate because he’s such a weapon on defense. Some other options are Willson Contreras, who is on the Cardinals and has mostly played first base this season, or Christian Vázquez , who is on a struggling Twins team. 

The Giants would also need to get creative with how to deploy the DH, given that Kirk would likely need to fill this spot. Moving Wilmer Flores to first would have to take place if this were to happen. While Flores certainly isn’t the best first baseman, it would be a way to get more out of the position regularly, with Lamonte Wade Jr. not hitting all that well this season. If Wade were to move back to a bench role, he could again log innings in the outfield and at first base when needed. 

3. Another everyday right-handed bat

Yes, I’m saying the Giants should go all-in on fixing their issues against left-handers. If they don’t, teams will line up their lefties for every series. 

The prime candidate and best asset available on the trade market will be Luis Robert Jr. Robert Jr. offers a unique asset of the ability to steal, with power, and solid defense. If the Giants were to trade for Robert, this would move Mike Yaztremski to a bench role going forward. With Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos as everyday players, there simply would not be a spot in the outfield for Yazstremiski. A move like this would also help the Giants get more athletic in the outfield, which would help the pitchers even more. 

There are some snags here. Robert will be quite a hefty prospect cost. Plus, he has a history of injury problems. These are two major strikes. But the good news is that he appears to be healthy 

If the Giants simply wanted to upgrade the first base position without moving pieces around for a cheaper price, they could also get Yandy Diaz. He has been an All-Star before and has been rumored to be moved at the last two trade deadlines. The Giants and Rays also have a history of making moves, which is why this certainly isn’t out of the equation.

There are certainly many ways that the Giants can upgrade the team. It will be interesting to see if they choose to go about it the cheap way or the big market way.