SF Giants rumors: MLB insider says Giants won't make many moves at trade deadline

As the MLB season rolls into mid-June, talk will naturally turn to the July 31st trade deadline. It is clear that the SF Giants have holes to fill on their roster, but one MLB insider believes the team will not be very active before the deadline.

Jim Bowden, a former MLB executive and current columnist for The Athletic, wrote an article recently breaking down how he thinks MLB teams are going to approach the trade deadline. The article can be read here (subscription required).

SF Giants rumors: MLB insider does not expect team to be active at trade deadline

Bowden writes: "The Giants believe in stability and continuity so, outside of adding another bat, don’t expect a lot of moves from them at this deadline." It is true that first-year president of baseball operations Buster Posey does seem to believe in stability, but he recently showed he is not afraid to shake things up if the team is playing poorly.

The former executive went on to name Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Naylor as a potential fit for the Giants since first base is a position the team can improve at and also since Naylor is going to be a free agent after the season so he would not block top prospect Bryce Eldridge. Dominic Smith has been very good for the Giants at first, but he seems like more of a stop-gap measure than a long-term solution for the rest of the season.

However, Naylor is having a solid year in Arizona, slashing .302/.357/.468 with eight home runs and 45 runs batted in. His name has already been floated as a potential trade piece so other teams will certainly be interested in his services especially as it seems like Arizona may want to sell after a middling first half. It is questionable whether they would want to sell to a fellow team in the National League West, though.

It will be interesting to see how aggressive the Giants want to be this trade deadline. While Bowden's argument that they may just try to add one bat makes sense, Posey made some recent comments on the infamous Zack Wheeler trade that suggest he may be more aggressive than many assume.

First base is far from the only position the Giants can improve at and the team has some exciting young prospects they could deal to bolster the lineup.

It would not be surprising if the Giants played it relatively safe at the trade deadline, but we know how badly Posey wants to win so do not be surprised if he tries to swing for the fences.