Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
PHILADELPHIA — Nothing has gone according to plan.
The Giants professed hope to start this season and were met with hopelessness. They tanked, and Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith could have had their bags packed for months.
And then other teams’ failures began turning into Farhan Zaidi’s successes. The Giants’ core reminded of its pedigree. And 24 hours from the trade deadline, the Giants entered play Tuesday in Philadelphia 2 1/2 games back of the second NL wild card.
At the start of June, Zaidi had no leverage; he could tell rival GMs that he could hold onto his key pieces who will be free agents at season’s end, and they could laugh at his poker face. At the conclusion of July, there is a better likelihood that Madison Bumgarner stays than he goes, even with Houston reportedly whispering in Zaidi’s ear. Smith is not the shoo-in trade chip he was.
Zaidi will take any call, and no one is completely safe. Yet, there is a better chance the Giants become marginal buyers than all-out sellers, prying the “everything must go!” signs from Zaidi’s windows.
“I’m excited we’re playing well because it gives us options,” Zaidi said last week. “It doesn’t paint us into a corner where maybe we feel that pressure of, ‘Hey, we really have to reload for the next five years because we have a real investment in what’s going on here right now.’ So it’s our job to see what’s out there in the market, evaluate those scenarios to try to balance the present and the future.”
If a team empties its prospect coffers for Bumgarner, Zaidi would deal him. Yet, the fact Marcus Stroman, who has an extra year before free agency, did not fetch a top-100 prospect going from the Blue Jays to Mets suggests no one will blow Zaidi away.
If a team offers a top prospect for Smith, Zaidi would deal him. Smith is the best lefty reliever on the market, but for a rental in a sea of relief options, it would be difficult to turn him into a can’t-miss piece. Still, Zaidi has spoken of depth-for-depth deals, and the Giants’ depth is in the bullpen. It would be surprising if the Giants’ bullpen remained untouched on Wednesday; they have too many options — including in the minors with lefty Sam Selman — and too many potential holes to fill to ignore the surplus.
So if the Giants aren’t sellers, whom could they buy? The most glaring needs are in the rotation and at second base. It was encouraging to see Conner Menez do well, and Shaun Anderson gave a peek at his potential. But for a team suddenly in the playoff hunt, neither is the reliable piece they need.
Jason Vargas went from the Mets to the Phillies on Monday for a non-prospect Double-A catcher, Philadelphia obtaining a veteran starter by paying money, rather than prospects. A deal like that provides a blueprint for the Giants, who have the wallet to absorb more payroll. A pitcher such as Tanner Roark from Cincinnati would be a nice fit; the 32-year-old is a to-be free agent with a 3.95 ERA and has performed well in two straight starts.
For infield options, the Marlins sure would love to have Starlin Castro off their books, but he’s not the on-base percentage contributor Zaidi craves. How much would Baltimore need to be offered to part with Jonathan Villar? He’s controllable for another season and has more pop and speed than Joe Panik. Donovan Solano could spell Brandon Crawford at shortstop and fill in at third, while second base could turn into a platoon for the righty Panik and switch-hitting Villar.
Trades like these do not provide the fireworks that a Bumgarner deal might. But in a Giants season that has been marked by surprise, perhaps the surprise at the deadline will be nothing major happening.