Giants Have Trade Bait in Minors That Could Help Strengthen MLB Rotation

Will the San Francisco Giants be buyers at the trade deadline?

Dec 12, 2024; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey listens during the introductory press conference for shortstop Willy Adames (not pictured) at Oracle Park. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Despite expectations being somewhat low coming into the season, the San Francisco Giants are proving seemingly every day that they are here to stay.

As the Giants continue to perform well in the challenging National League West, the possibility of this team being a legitimate contender is becoming more realistic.

While the hot start could have been seen as nothing more than that, with a record well over the .500 mark toward the end of May, San Francisco is proving to be a strong team.

Due to the franchise not having the highest of expectations, being a seller at the trade deadline seemed like the most likely result for them coming into the campaign. However, this is a team that is now very much appearing to be a buyer this season.

Unfortunately, the farm system for the Giants isn’t the greatest, but they do have some assets that they might be able to move.

Will San Francisco Be Buyers?

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about Giants prospect Joe Whitman as the most likely trade candidate for the team.

“A second-round pick in 2023, Whitman had a 4.63 ERA last season and is at 4.88 so far this year with Double-A Richmond. Still, he is regarded as one of San Francisco's better prospects with a mid-90s fastball and a pretty lethal slider," he wrote.

When looking at San Francisco, one of the most glaring needs for the team is in the starting rotation. The combination of Logan Webb and Robbie Ray has been excellent at the top of the rotation, but help is needed to round the unit out.

Recently, Jordan Hicks’ struggles resulted in him moving to the bullpen in favor of Hayden Birdsong. However, Hicks hasn’t been the only member of the rotation to struggle with Landen Roupp also not performing well.

As the team looks to prove that they can contend and keep pace in the division, help in the rotation is going to be key.

Without a plethora of top prospects, Whitman could be an appealing asset to try and move for the team to get some help in the rotation. The former second-round pick hasn’t been great as of yet in the minors, but the potential is there.

However, before president of baseball operations Buster Posey is going to be trading from a farm system that lacks depth and talent, he must make sure this team is truly ready to contend.

With a couple of months to go before the trade deadline, the performance of the Giants will be a determining factor for whether or not it is time to get aggressive and be buyers at the deadline.