SF Giants Rumors: Joe Ryan trade unlikely, Padres aggressively going after pitching

With the MLB GM Meetings beginning in Las Vegas today, the rumors are starting to fly a little bit. No one knows how aggressive teams are going to be ahead of the lockout but in late 2021 prior to the last lockout teams were pretty active so there should be some movement, even from the SF Giants.

They have not been explicitly linked to any targets yet, but some of the rumors spreading early on have a definite impact on them so let’s dive in.

How the early rumors at GM Meetings impact the Giants

Joe Ryan, others, may not be traded

Per Jon Morosi of MLB Network, players entering the final year of their contract may not be traded in exchange for prospects this month given the uncertainty surrounding the 2027 season. He mentions Joe Ryan, Steven Kwan, Logan Gilbert, and Sandy Alcantara as players who fall into that category, all players who could potentially make sense for the Giants in some capacity.

However, Morosi does note that “pending free agents could be moved *for each other* as a way to balance the risk.”

That’s interesting. The Giants don’t have a ton of players entering the last year of their contract. According to Spotrac, Harrison Bader, Camilo Doval, and Sam Hentges are the only guys set to be unrestricted free agents after the 2027 season.

Bader obviously has a weird situation with his contract after his scooter crash while Doval and Hentges have not officially been tendered a contract yet.

Jung Hoo Lee could factor into the equation since he can opt out of his contract after 2027, but if he decides to opt in then that team would be on the hook for two more years of Lee which wouldn’t be all that appetizing unless he has a really good 2027.

So maybe the Giants could trade Lee for someone like Gilbert or Ryan in order to strengthen the rotation, but it seems like it may be tough to work out a deal for them ahead of the lockout.

Padres plan to make moves to address pitching

It may not stop the presses to hear that the San Diego Padres are planning to be aggressive, but Morosi also wrote the following on social media: “The Padres are among the most active teams in the free agent starter market.”

This makes sense since the Padres really needed help with pitching at the trade deadline. That’s why the Giants were able to trade Robbie Ray to San Diego for a couple of prospects. 

Maybe the Giants and Padres will end up fighting over some of the same free agents this offseason. There are a lot of starters available in the sort of mid-tier range so they should both be in the mix as should other pitcher-needy teams such as the Chicago Cubs.

Expect the rumor mill to heat up even more, but these are just a few nuggets that have potential ramifications for the Giants as they look to improve the pitching staff. 

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