What the SF Giants need to accomplish at the 2025 MLB trade deadline

The 2025 MLB trade deadline is right around the corner. For the SF Giants, they could be buyers. They could sell off a few pieces. What they need to accomplish is picking a direction and sticking with it.

What the SF Giants need to accomplish at the 2025 MLB trade deadline

The Giants are currently on the outside of the Wild Card picture with a 54-52 record. They got swept by the New York Mets over the weekend, and are getting uncomfortably close to .500 baseball. Fangraphs paints their playoff odds at 24.1 percent.

On this same date last year, the Giants had a 53-55 record, with a 20.1 percent chance of reaching postseason baseball. Despite having a better roster this season, they are not in a markedly better position than they were a year ago.

Of course, the Giants had a bizarre approach at the trade deadline last year. They shipped out Jorge Soler and Alex Cobb while adding Mark Canha. Were they buying? Were they selling? A little bit of both?

They are in a similar spot this season. The roster is improved, with additions like Willy Adames and Rafael Devers. Matt Chapman was locked into a long-term extension.

The core of position players has not fully clicked yet, but they have a track record. For the first time, perhaps, in this decade, they have a nucleus of long-term players. Of course, Logan Webb and Jung Hoo Lee also belong in this mix.

There is an identity to this club that has not been present for a few years. Fans can wear the jerseys of their favorite players, knowing that they will be in San Francisco for the foreseeable future. There is excitement, even if they have struggled. There has been an increase in attendance to 36,144 fans per game, up from an average of 33,096 fans last year. Undoubtedly, the ownership group is excited to see more people in the stands, as it leads to ticket revenue and concession sales.

The trade deadline is a key moment in the season. It is a time for front offices to add to their team's identity. They can stand pat if they are satisfied with where the club is. They can put their chips in by buying, or they could sell off any tradable assets.

The Giants have not been in a position to buy since 2021. Over the past three years, they have straddled the line between buying and selling. It was hard to tell what they committed to, or if they accomplished anything. Those years blur together.

This year's club has a freshness to them. Buster Posey can take advantage of that by buying at the deadline, and he has shown a knack for making the big moves early in his tenure as the team president of baseball operations.

More than anything, they just need to pick a direction. That is something they have lacked in recent years. They invested a lot of money in the 2023 and 2024 rosters. Those investments did not pay off, but not picking a direction at the trade deadline was also a missed opportunity.

The direction could be adding to this year's team, and trying to make a playoff push. Or, getting fans excited for the future by trading away assets, with the hopes of adding a potential prospect or two. Either one works, but pick a lane and stick with it. If by the end of the trade deadline, that lane is obvious, then the Giants will have accomplished what they needed.