The San Francisco Giants have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2021 season, sitting near the top of the MLB standings entering July. With the trade deadline approaching, San Francisco has an opportunity to cement its status as a World Series contender.
This club is aways removed from just a few years ago, when it was selling at the deadline. San Francisco’s farm system was overhauled quickly, creating plenty of ammo to pursue a blockbuster trade. With a nice mix of veteran talent and emerging, young players, now is a great time for the front office to be aggressive.
Let’s examine three trades that could help the San Francisco Giants compete for a World Series title.
Joey Gallo traded to San Francisco Giants
The Giants have a lot to feel confident about as the second half of the 2021 season approaches, but there are ways to improve this lineup. The outfield is the best route for this team to acquire an impact bat and someone like Joey Gallo could be a huge addition.
- San Francisco Giants trade: Hunter Bishop (SF’s No. 4 prospect), RHP Sean Hjelle (SF’s No. 11 prospect), C Ricardo Genoves
- Texas Rangers trade: Joey Gallo
Gallo, wh os arbitration-eligible for the final time this offseason, would provide massive pop to the Giants lineup. The 27-year-old isn’t hitting cheap blasts either, ranking in the 88th percentile among all hitters for average exit velocity and 97th percentile for barrel rate. He is also phenomenal defensively in right field and has even proven he can play center field.
While Gallo is the exact definition of a three-true outcome player, the Giants already have the fifth-highest TTO rate (40.2%) in MLB. Plug him into the middle of the batting order, San Francisco might just win the NL West.
Taylor Rogers strengthens bullpen
The Giants should already feel confident about their bullpen, but that isn’t enough. If any club should recognize the importance of having multiple late-inning arms who can take over in October, it’s San Francisco. That’s where Taylor Rogers comes into play.
- San Francisco Giants acquire: Taylor Rogers
- Minnesota Twins acquire: OF Alex Canario (SF’s No. 9 prospect), RHP Gregory Santos (SF’s No. 13 prospect)
Rogers, like Gallo, is under team control through the 2022 season. While the 30-year-old southpaw doesn’t get a ton of opportunities to close games this season for the Minnesota Twins, he is spectacular when called upon> Through 33 innings, he holds a 2.73 ERA and an incredible 28.4% K-BB rate.
San Francisco’s bullpen entered Sunday with the third-lowest ERA and the closer duo of Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee has been sharp. The best part of this potential trade, it puts the Rogers twins together in one playoff bullpen.
San Francisco Giants acquire Tyler Anderson
In a perfect world, the Giants pull off a trade for José Berríos or John Means. But one team can only pull off so many blockbuster trades, especially when a farm system is still being developed. So, instead of acquiring an ace, Farhan Zaidi makes his rotation deeper with a familiar face.
Tyler Anderson pitched relatively well for San Francisco last season, recording a 4.37 ERA across 59.2 innings. While things haven’t worked out great in Pittsburgh, as seen in his 4.75 ERA, ranking in the 83rd percentile for fastball spin and generating an 11.3% swinging-strike rate say more.
San Francisco’s rotation seems fine for now, but there is some risk of this group thinning out quickly. Both Johnny Cueto and Alex Wood have a history of durability issues and the Giants would be wise to monitor their workloads. Anderson makes for a dependable back-end starter and he shouldn’t cost much to acquire.
