© Ed Szczepanski | 2018 Aug 7
The MLB trade deadline is tomorrow and the rumors are only going to continue to heat up as the 1 PM PT cutoff approaches. The latest is regarding Madison Bumgarner, still considered arguably the biggest piece on the market, and the Houston Astros, who have reportedly engaged in trade talks with the Giants, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports.
Source says Giants and Astros “engaged” on Bumgarner. Amount of traction unclear.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) July 30, 2019
Bumagarner, along with Will Smith, were both thought as locks to be moved at the deadline. That was until the Giants began their improbable hot streak, that has seen them go from last place in the NL West, to 2.5 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot. Now the conventional wisdom is that the Giants will not be sellers, and are more likely to add a piece or two according to Eno Sarris of The Athletic
So what do we make of this report? Probably not all that much. Farhan Zaidi said on KNBR last week that he is still taking calls on Bumgarner and others. “Engaging” in trade talks can be as simple as picking up the phone when an interested team calls. It is worth noting, however, that the Astros do have three of MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects in their farm system — outfielder Kyle Tucker (13), pitcher Forrest Whitley (17) and first baseman/outfielder Seth Beer (100).
“I’m having conversations with GMs every day,” Zaidi said. “That’s not an indication of what we’ll do or even if we’ll do anything. But that’s our job this time of year is to understand the landscape, see what options are out there.”