Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
It’s probably too much to say that the Giants are going for it. But they are allowing the team that is assembled to do what it feels it can do: Enter the postseason.
The trade deadline came and past Monday, and San Francisco passed. This year’s Drew Pomeranz, Kevin Gausman, was not cashed in. Johnny Cueto has not made his final start as a Giant. Tony Watson will continue to pitch in high-leverage spots for Gabe Kapler, who has said he likes the team.
So, too, does Farhan Zaidi. He and GM Scott Harris made just one move — buying Anthony Banda from the Rays, who had DFA’d the lefty pitcher — but did not sell. Or buy. In a year of differences, Zaidi was surprisingly quiet for a team that is 17-19, has won nine of 12 and is a half-game out of a playoff spot.
“We feel comfortable with the team we have,” Zaidi said on a Zoom call Monday.
The president of baseball operations said they were not seeking purely buying or selling moves, but baseball ones that made sense for both sides. Perhaps if the trade deadline were a few days ago, they would have felt better about moving Gausman, whose value is high as both a starter and reliever on an expiring deal. If the front office wanted to trade from a strength, the rotation was a possibility.
But Trevor Cahill went down with hip inflammation Saturday. Drew Smyly and Jeff Samardzija, while progressing, still need “to get over the final hump,” Zaidi said. A strength could become a need in a hurry, which influenced the acquisition of Banda, a lefty swingman who will report to Sacramento and could be an option later this season.
“It wasn’t as easy to find those obvious matches,” Zaidi said, and while there were a few blockbusters (the Padres landing Mike Clevinger), deals were down. The Giants were “looking to make our team better, looking to target players that we like as long-term pieces of the puzzle, and nothing materialized. Maybe because our situation was a little more nuanced — it’s always more challenging to make trades as opposed to a situation where you’re a pure seller and out of the race. But not terribly surprising [to stand pat].”
He acknowledged they had sought a lefty bat and righty reliever, the Giants unable to find a third outfield bat who hits righty pitching all season, which began with Joe McCarthy in that role. But Zaidi pointed out that some of the righty hitting has been hitting righty pitching — he mentioned Wilmer Flores, Donovan Solano and Austin Slater, whom the Giants hope returns soon.
Just as Cahill’s hip may have tweaked plans, the bullpen’s recent uptick influenced the deadline silence as well.
“With the step forward [Sam] Coonrod’s taken and with Trevor Gott getting back on track, with [Tyler] Rogers kind of maintaining the consistency that he’s shown — we have some interesting looks and some interesting ways to play out 27 outs,” Zaidi said, Coonrod recently throwing 101 mph off the injured list. “And again, in a short series, I think that gives us some pretty good options.”
If there is a major concern to emerge out of Monday, it’s that San Diego, in second in the NL West, seriously beefed up, adding Clevinger, Mitch Moreland, Austin Nola and Trevor Rosenthal, among others. The Giants are a game back of the Rockies, whom they will see Tuesday and who added old pal Kevin Pillar.
“You don’t want to be in a position where you’re reacting,” Zaidi said, saying the Padres’ haul didn’t affect the Giants’ plans.
The Giants’ plans are to continue playing good baseball with the guys who have been playing good baseball. They did not buy or sell, which will please a clubhouse that features Gausman, who publicly said he wanted to stay because he likes the team and its protocols; that features Evan Longoria and Watson and Alex Dickerson, all of whom recently expressed a desire to make a run for the postseason with this roster.
“The guys in our clubhouse are pretty excited about keeping this group together,” Zaidi said, “because even in their public comments, not just Kevin’s but other guys, you can tell there’s a lot of belief within the group about what we can accomplish here down the stretch.”
