The San Francisco Giants are a clear trade deadline seller, and these five players should be on their radar to move.
Even with a win over the first place Los Angeles Dodgers Monday night, their sixth victory in their last 10 contests, the San Francisco Giants are 31-39 and 15.5 games back entering Tuesday. There may be no clearer seller between now and the trade deadline, as team president Farhan Zaidi tries to refresh the organization with some younger talent.
The Giants should be very active over the next several weeks, and on the pitching side in particular they have some legit targets for contending teams. But the asking price might be high for those arms, with pitching always at a premium on the trade market, and in the case of Madison Bumgarner Zaidi has reportedly told interested teams he won’t make the move if his asking price isn’t met.
That said, there will be plenty of calls coming into the Giants between now and July 31. And these five players are among those who may be on the move.
5. 1B/3B Pablo Sandoval
Pablo Sandoval had his hand stepped on during a play at first base Monday night, but X-rays were negative and he received four stitches in his right pinkie. He is sure to miss a couple days, but it could have been a lot worse and a fairly quick return (even with the possibility of an IL stint) seems likely.
Sandoval is hitting .290/.323/.572 (.895 OPS) with nine home runs and 26 RBI over 155 plate appearances this season (through Monday) while splitting time between third and first base.
“Kung Fu Panda” is earning $19 million this year, but the Boston Red Sox are paying all but $545,000 of that as they deal with the ramifications of an ill-fated $95 million contract. There’s also a $5 million buyout for next year that Boston is on the hook for, so Sandoval is essentially in the last year of his contract at an incredibly cheap rate.
A competent hitter who can play both corner infield spots will have value to a contender or two. If Sandoval’s hand injury doesn’t keep him out long or particularly hamper him, the Giants should be able to get a mid-level prospect from someone.