Giants Can Make Splash Play for Impact Hitter With Valuable Trade Chips

The San Francisco Giants will be buyers at the trade deadline, and will be an attractive partner for teams looking for pitching help.

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The San Francisco Giants head into the MLB trade deadline as buyers with clear needs.

President of baseball operations Buster Posey is an unknown since he hasn't gone through a trade deadline as an executive just yet, but he’s shown this season that he's not afraid to make bold moves that positions the Giants to keep winning.

They need a power hitter who is ideally a right fielder and an upgrade at first base — likely a rental that won’t block the trajectory of top prospect Bryce Eldridge.

A lefty hitter would be welcomed in the lineup, too, as would improvement at second base.

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As San Francisco assesses their needs ahead of the trade deadline, they importantly have a wealth of something several contenders don’t have — starting pitching.

Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (subscription required) reported on an intriguing conversation that took place between Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow and Posey that Krukow shared on KNBR last week.

“Buster Posey recently asked me, ‘Between Hayden Birdsong, Landen Roupp, and Kyle Harrison, who do you think is the best one?’” Krukow told Brian Murphy and Markus Boucher. “And I think it’s Harrison ... because he has so many different ways to get better. Right now, he’s a 100 percent four-seam fastball guy.”

Is Posey trying to assess an order for who to keep and who to shop for impact hitters?

Baggarly notes that Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong both being 23 years old with the traits they have makes them top trade chips, but it also makes them tougher to part with.

That makes lefty prospect Carson Whisenhunt a valuable piece to a potential deal alongside Landen Roupp.

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It’s still early, and Posey has said that he doesn’t plan to seek a blockbuster-type trade.

Shipping away Birdsong or Harrison would certainly fit that bill, making them less likely to be moved.

But Posey’s roster shakeup showed that he can be assertive when San Francisco needs to win, and as Baggarly pointed out in his piece, he liked those types of moves as a player.

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The Giants traded away top prospect Zack Wheeler for Carlos Beltran in 2011, and while they didn’t make the playoffs, Posey thought that it signaled to the team that they were positioned for a run.

That effect on the team’s psychology can’t be discounted, and Posey is more uniquely positioned than others with solid pitching depth to spin trades when things move closer to the July 31 deadline.

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