The San Francisco Giants are still in the battle for a playoff spot as they find themselves in a “no man’s land” situation heading into the quickly approaching MLB trade deadline.
With the uncertainty of the future, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter offered some advice to management: They shouldn’t trade away top prospects in search of a short-term solution. Instead, maybe they should just do nothing.
“The Giants gave up their second- and third-round picks in the 2024 draft to sign Blake Snell and Matt Chapman in free agency, and the idea of mortgaging more prospect talent on a flawed roster is not something they should consider,” Reuter said. “With a 47-50 record, a minus-27 run differential and a 29-37 record against teams with a winning record, this is simply not a very good team. We have to tough it out until the deadline, ride out the season and regroup.”
According to the author’s latest MLB farm system rankings, San Francisco was ranked #21. Clearly, he’s not a big fan to begin with, so trading what little they have doesn’t make much sense.
Bryce Eldridge is arguably the most valuable player in the minor league system despite not being the No. 1 prospect. He’s a big, power-hitting first baseman who has lit up High-A since being promoted with a .325/.453/.475 slash line.
The top prospect in the minor league system is left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt. He has struggled in his first season at the Triple-A level, posting a 6.31 ERA in 19 starts, but still has strikeout potential.
He was selected in the second round of the 2022 MLB draft and it seems too early to let him go, even though he turns 24 this year.
Marco Luciano is another player who has long been the subject of trade talks. He had a short stint in the majors and got off to a blistering start before being sent down to the minors. He hasn’t been as solid in Triple-A, but his .248/.380/.367 batting line still isn’t terrible.
While it’s true that this adds one or two more hitters to the lineup, these prospects are more important in the long run.
The Giants could become sellers, but they don’t have much to offer in terms of . Michael Conforto is making a lot of money and Alex Cobb hasn’t pitched yet.
Moving forward seems to be the best bet for this season.
