Why Giants Have to Trade At Least One Star Infielder by Deadline

The San Francisco Giants are in a position where they must deal some players but there is a key reason at least one of them must be an infielder.

San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The San Francisco Giants are going to be one of those teams that are going get a lot to trade nibbles before the Aug. 3 deadline.

San Francisco is out of the playoff race, and the reset is going to start after the deadline. Part of that will be what the Giants are able trade away at the deadline. They have some attractive trade pieces, but they also have players that need room to grow.

For that reason, it’s possible the Giants could move multiple infielders at the trade deadline.

Why Giants Infielders Could be Traded

San Francisco Giants designated hitter Bryce Eldridge. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote on Sunday that the Giants “would love” to trade two of their infielders at the deadline. The key reason? San Francisco believes it needs to clear space for Bryce Eldridge to play every day at first base as opposed to having him work as a semi-full time designated hitter. The franchise, per Nightengale, believes it is “stunting his growth” as an infielder.

Entering Sunday’s action he was slashing .280/.368/.484 with seven home runs and 19 RBI. He’s only played 11 of his 46 games at first base. That’s because Rafael Devers plays that position on a more regular basis. The Giants have invested time into making Devers a competent first baseman. They need to put in that time with Eldridge too.

While San Francisco would “love” to trade two infielders, it only needs to trade one to accommodate Eldridge. The move convenient move would be to trade Devers. It wouldn’t be easy.

Devers is still a terrific hitter. He’s slashing .246/.309/.464 with 16 home runs and 45 RBI. He also leads the Majors with 24 doubles. He’s adapted nicely to hitting at Oracle Park. But he carries a high cost. He is in the third year of a 10-year, $313.5 million deal he signed with Boston before the 2024 season. That’s more than $30 million per year for the Giants — or the team that takes him on. He wouldn’t be a free agent until 2034.

His offense is attractive. His contract is not.

The other way to do it would be to trade third baseman Matt Champam and move Devers back to his original position of third base. He played that position in Boston until he was ousted from it for Alex Bregman in 2025.

Moving Chapman is more possible. He is in the second year of a six-year contract worth $151 million. He’s valued at $25 million per year. He’s a Gold Glove level defender, but his offensive decline may be coming before the end of his contract. He’s slashing .235/.324/.368 with seven home runs and 42 RBI. He’s also on the injured list.

Eldrige has several years of team control ahead of him. He’s the future. The Giants just need to move one infielder to make it work. Which one to move and how to do it will be the question that president of baseball operations Buster Posey must grapple with the next month.