San Francisco Giants Trade Target Could Offer Best Answer For Future

The San Francisco Giants could find their future staff ace before the MLB trade deadline.

Apr 13, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (45) pitches during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Guaranteed Rate Field. | Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Most of the moves that the San Francisco Giants made this offseason have not gone the way that they wanted, which could force the front office to go back to the drawing board soon.

They're still in the playoff race for this season, though, which could point to them looking for trades before the MLB deadline that would both improve their roster now and have long-term potential.

San Francisco starters this season have ranked No. 24 overall in terms of staff WAR. A big part of that has been the implosion of Blake Snell along with the inconsistencies of Kyle Harrison and Keaton Winn.

Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet could be the perfect addition to their rotation.

Crochet hit a rough patch in April but his past month was nothing short of spectacular.

In the month of May, the southpaw had a 0.93 ERA across five starts with a 0.724 WHIP. Four of the White Sox’s nine wins came during one of his starts. He carried the team on his back last month and could draw a lot of interest because of it.

He’s had an interesting journey over the past couple of seasons and looks to finally be hitting his stride once again.

Back in 2020, he skipped straight over the minors after being drafted out of the University of Tennessee, appearing in five games and pitching six scoreless innings to close out the season just months after being selected.

His first full season came in 2021 when he came out of the bullpen with a 2.82 ERA. He then missed all of 2022 due to Tommy John surgery. He came back to a bullpen role in May 2023 and had a 3.55 ERA.

At the start of 2024, he began his starting role. He had gotten off to a rough start, just under a 6.00 ERA over 34.2 innings of work but that is all the way down to just 3.49 after his first start of June.

The 24-year-old has kept his elite four-seam fastball at around 97 MPH. It’s by far his best pitch, but he’s also introduced a cutter this season that has given him another really successful pitch to lean on as a starter.

The Giants have had recent success with converting players from the bullpen to the starting rotation. Jordan Hicks made that transition this year and has emerged as a star.

Snell could move on after this season due to a player option, leaving space for a new staff ace.