Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Trade deadlines can be interpreted as messages from front offices to their teams about how they stack up and how the decision-makers view their chess pieces.
This deadline came and went with silence from Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris. Gabe Kapler viewed it as an endorsement for a team they wanted to see more of. The players, by and large, were happy to be staying, especially as they played better and especially in a season played alongside a pandemic.
If there were players who were disappointed that additions were not made for a team that could have used another lefty bat and a righty bullpen arm, they did not go public. Of course, the trade deadline is only the deadline for trades and not for signings.
The Giants identified a weakness in hitting righty pitching that Pablo Sandoval has not solved. The fan favorite was waived, and Justin Smoak, an All-Star in 2017 who was floundering with Milwaukee, was brought in.
“It just shows how the front office of the team is really trying to make that push to get in,” Drew Smyly said Thursday.
Smyly himself can be viewed as another late-season add for the Giants, not having taken a big-league mound since Aug. 1, when a strained finger sidelined him until Thursday’s activation. They were 5-4 on Aug. 1 and about to begin a spiral from which they righted themselves. He has returned to a 23-21 club that has won five straight and put itself in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot.
He has returned to a team with a role that could evolve. Smyly sees himself as a starter, and he was being built up to throw out of the rotation before he went down, with Tyler Anderson and Trevor Cahill seeing success in the past six weeks. It’s possible San Francisco continues to stretch his arm that way, having thrown 50 pitches and three innings in a sim game Saturday.
But it’s also possible they use him in the “Drew Pomeranz role,” Kapler said Thursday, of one or one-plus high-powered innings. Or they could let him throw three or four innings in relief of Cahill, should the starter with a hip injury be struggling.
Smyly, who was excellent in three short appearances before injury struck, gives them an option for relief help or starting help or somewhere in between. The reinforcements are here, even if it’s not yet clear what they’re reinforcing.
“I know I can help this team,” said Smyly, who last pitched in a playoff game in 2013, with Detroit. “…Obviously winning is on top of everybody’s mind right now, so anywhere I can fit in, I think I’ll be ready to go. It’s not going to be a hard transition for me to go to the bullpen or starter.”
He views Smoak, whom he’s seen in 11 at-bats from their AL days, as a “great hitter” with a “great eye” who also can help this team. Smoak works pitchers in a way Sandoval never has, and as much goodwill as Sandoval built up from his long record of success and from his popularity in the clubhouse and with fans, the Giants like Smoak’s bat (and patience) better right now.
And Smoak likes the way the Giants are playing right now. The 33-year-old hasn’t played in the postseason since 2016, with Toronto. He reached out to Evan Longoria, another player he knows from their AL days, and liked what he heard about the team.
He wants to bounce back from slashing .186/.262/.381 in 126 plate appearances with the Brewers before being DFA’d. In a normal season, he said, that sample size takes you to “maybe the end of April.” He didn’t hold it against Milwaukee, but does see the Giants as a place he can rebound and his bat can take into October.
“I think the biggest thing was, you got a chance to make the playoffs,” Smoak said of signing with the club. “And they’ve been playing really good baseball as of late, and hopefully you can somewhat be a part of that.”
It’s still possible Jeff Samardzija returns, too, though his arm is not as craved as Smyly’s. Perhaps Reyes Moronta can be atop a major league mound again, which could be significant.
For now, though, Zaidi and Scott’s help is here. It just came a little later than expected.