SF Giants miss out on two major opportunities to upgrade rotation via trade

It was already pretty clear that the SF Giants were done making additions to the starting rotation after signing Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle, but two of the best potential trade candidates are now off the board for San Francisco.

The Texas Rangers swung a trade with the Washington Nationals for left-handed ace MacKenzie Gore and the New York Mets made a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for Freddy Peralta.

SF Giants sticking with milquetoast rotation upgrades

The Giants were reportedly still interested in Peralta, as were the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the Mets were able to land the two-time All-Star to boost their rotation.

At this point, the Giants just have to be happy that Peralta didn't go to the Dodgers. In this universe where the Dodgers are the Saudi Arabia of baseball and can just throw money at any player or make any trade they want, any time a player is not grabbed by their tentacles has to be considered a win.

As for Gore, it was a bit of a surprise to see him end up with the Rangers. It was thought that other teams might be more interested but the Rangers landing him shows the Giants that it is not just the big market teams like the Mets or Chicago Cubs who can trade for a starter.

Both deals involved giving up a number of prospects and perhaps the Giants just did not feel comfortable doing that. They would have had to be blown away in any trade that involved top prospect Bryce Eldridge for example, so maybe they felt a more modest approach would be prudent.

Even though the Giants signed two pitchers and technically have five starters entering next season, there are still a ton of question marks. While Logan Webb is as consistent as it gets at the top of the rotation, Robbie Ray declined steeply in the second half last season after he was an All-Star in the first half. Landen Roupp is coming off injury and hasn't had a full season as a starter yet. Both Houser and Mahle have been inconsistent and have dealt with injuries so getting a full season out of both would be a surprise.

That likely means the Giants will be forced to lean on their younger arms at some point in the season, but plenty is still uncertain about Carson Whisenhunt, Hayden Birdsong, and Carson Seymour.

The Giants are hoping all of these pitching questions will sort itself out in due time, but if they had been more aggressive and swung a trade for a more proven starter then maybe they'd be in a better place.