Where Do the Giants Go from Here?

At the All-Star break the Giants have a record of 47-50 and are only 3 games back of a wildcard spot in this year's weak National League. Farhan Zaidi is in a more tough position than ever in 2024. This winter he decided to finally spend money, acquiring top free agents like last year's NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell, KBO superstar Jung Hoo Lee, and Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman. With these moves, the Giants have the 10th highest payroll in all of baseball. 

These moves were good and bad. You can’t say Lee was a bad move, as he got hurt 2 months into the season and was ruled out for the year with a shoulder injury on May 12th. Snell got off to a historically bad start for a pitcher of his caliber, but he has not allowed a run in his last 12 innings, and only gave up 2 hits in the same innings. He looks to be back on track and worth the money the Giants gave him. Chapman has easily been the best signing of the three, posting his best season since 2019 so far. But then why is this club 3 games below .500?

You can point fingers all you want, but the first finger you point has to be to the bullpen. They have the 25th worst bullpen ERA in all of baseball and are top of the list in blown saves. That won’t cut it for a team wanting to make a playoff run. That should definitely be on Farhan’s list of needs at this year's trade deadline.

 In an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area, Farhan said, “we want to give our players coming up opportunities.” This most likely means the Giants will be quiet at the deadline, unless they want to sell. They have already started unloading veterans, including releasing Nick Ahmed and trading longtime outfielder Austin Slater. These moves gave more playing time to Luis Matos and Tyler Fitzgerald, two of the young players Farhan was referencing. This has given the Giants a boost of energy, ending the All-Star break with a 7-6 record. 

The team will need to rely on players coming back from injury, especially Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb. Two starting pitchers the Giants desperately need in the rotation, both of whom have not pitched in 2024. Ray, who won the AL Cy Young in 2021, and Alex Cobb, an All-Star last year, will be much needed pieces to the Giants playoff push in the second half of 2024. Is the Giants trade deadline just getting healthy? I guess we’ll have to see.