These are the 10 best trades in SF Giants history

The SF Giants have made many trades in their history that have panned out well. A number of them have directly contributed to teams that won the World Series. Let's take a look at the 10 best trades in SF Giants history.

10 best SF Giants trades in history

These trades are not necessarily ranked, but they all had a very positive impact on the Giants in one way or another.

1. Hunter Pence for Nate Schierholtz, Tommy Joseph, and Seth Rosin (2012)

The Giants swung this trade with the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline in 2012 and it worked out very well. While Pence did not hit great for the Giants in 2012, he was a spiritual and emotional leader on the team whose inspiration helped the Giants win the World Series in 2012. His great play was a huge reason why they won another World Series in 2014. He will forever be a fan-favorite and legend in San Francisco so it is safe to say the trade worked out well for San Francisco.

2. Kevin Mitchell, Dave Dravecky, and Craig Lefferts for Chris Brown, Keith Comstock, Mark Davis, and Mark Grant (1987)

The Giants landed Kevin Mitchell in a trade with the San Diego Padres in 1987 and the Giants clearly won the trade. Mitchell went on to be the National League MVP in 1989 and was a huge part of that team that went to the World Series. Any trade that delivers a future MVP to your team is a pretty darn good one.

3. Marco Scutaro for Charlie Culberson (2012)

Another key trade in 2012 was when the Giants traded for second baseman Marco Scutaro, sending Charlie Culberson to the Colorado Rockies. Culberson went on to hang around in the big leagues for a while, but Scutaro became a playoff legend in 2012 thanks to his clutch hitting. He was the NLCS MVP and delivered the go-ahead RBI in Game 4 of the World Series to cement his legacy as a legend in San Francisco.

4. Jeff Kent, Julian Tavarez, Jose Vizcaino, and Joe Roa for Matt Williams and Trenidad Hubbard (1996)

This trade that sent fan-favorite Matt Williams to Cleveland in exchange for Jeff Kent was extremely controversial at the time. General manager Brian Sabean stuck his neck out on the trade and thankfully it panned out as Kent went on to be the National League MVP in 2000 and was a key member of several Giants playoff teams.

5. Javier Lopez for John Bowker and Joe Martinez (2010)

Rarely does a trade for a reliever pay such huge dividends, but this trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010 was huge in cementing the "Core Four" in San Francisco's bullpen. Lopez went on to be a huge part of the team's bullpen for the next six years and was relied on by manager Bruce Bochy to get huge outs against lefties during all three of the team's World Series runs.

6. Vida Blue for Gary Thomasson, Gary Alexander, Dave Heaverlo, John Henry Johnson, Phil Huffman, Alan Wirth (1978)

The Giants got Blue from Oakland in this trade and he pitched very well for San Francisco over the next few seasons. He was an All-Star for the Giants in 1978, 1980, and 1981. Blue was a legend who passed away in 2023 and it was great that he got to be a Giant in his career.

7. Rick Reuschel for Jeff Robinson and Scott Medvin (1987)

Reuschel is remembered mostly for him time with the Chicago Cubs, but he was an important member of the Giants in the late 1980's. He was an All-Star in 1989 and even though he got roughed around in the 1989 All-Star Game and the 1989 World Series, the Giants may not have made that World Series without reuschel.

8. Kirk Reuter and Tim Scott for Mark Leiter (1996)

Kirk Reuter was never an All-Star for the Giants, but he was one of their most dependable starters in the late 1990's and early 2000's. His two best seasons were in 1997 when he had a 3.45 ERA in 32 starts and then in 2002 when he had a 3.23 ERA in 33 starts and helped the Giants reach the World Series. He was probably the best left-handed pitcher in the team's San Francisco history until Madison Bumgarner came along.

9. Rich Aurilia and Desi Wilson for John Burkett (1994)

Rich Aurilia made his MLB debut with the Giants in 1995 but he was originally drafted by the Texas Rangers. The Giants did not give much up to get Aurilia and in return they got a very reliable shortstop who was an All-Star in 2001.

10. Jake Peavy for Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree (2014)

The Giants took a chance on Peavy in 2014 even though his numbers with Boston were not great. He recorded a 2.17 ERA in 12 starts with the Giants and delivered a great performance in Game 1 of the 2014 NLDS. Bumgarner rightfully gets all the glory for 2014, but Peavy played an important role as well.

So there you have it, the ten best trades in SF Giants history.