MLB Trade Deadline

Why Zaidi, Giants went silent before MLB trade deadline

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SAN FRANCISCO -- When Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi received calls from a couple of rival executives in late June, he found himself thinking it felt remarkably early for trade talk to pick up. That didn't end up foreshadowing a chaotic deadline.

It was a relatively quiet couple of days around the game, and the Giants in particular were just about completely silent. One of the game's most active executives completed just one trade, with the Giants acquiring AJ Pollock and Mark Mathias on Monday but not adding anyone else. They didn't send out a single member of their organization, promising the Seattle Mariners only cash considerations or a player to be named later. 

On Tuesday, a little more than an hour after the deadline passed, Zaidi said the Giants didn't see anything in recent days that made sense for their roster. 

"I don't know what the broader perception is but it wasn't a super-active deadline and a lot of the bigger names that people thought might be moved at the deadline were not," he said. "Teams that were kind of on the bubble decided to push in. I think a lot of teams dealt with the same supply-and-demand issue that we did, and we ultimately didn't line up on anything."

It felt like the Giants had two big needs heading into the deadline, but they were really only active on one front. Despite the perception that they need starting pitching help -- they currently have just two pitchers regularly starting games for them -- Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler have said repeatedly that they're happy with the composition of the staff. The Giants used bullpen games twice over the weekend and again on Monday, with four veteran "bulk innings" pitchers combining to throw 14 13/ innings and allow two earned runs. 

The Giants lost Monday, but they're still 14-5 in bullpen games this year. Zaidi looked into the upper end of the market, but many of the marquee names -- Marcus Stroman, Mitch Keller, Dylan Cease -- stayed put, and the Giants didn't want to add depth pieces. 

"For the most part, especially lately, we've pitched really well," Zaidi said. "We just haven't put crooked numbers on the board from an offensive standpoint."

At one point Tuesday, Zaidi asked reporters if they knew where the Giants ranked offensively in July. He wasn't surprised when told they finished last in runs -- along with several other key offensive metrics -- but the Giants didn't add beyond Pollock, who is starting in left field in his Giants debut. 

The Giants spent several weeks looking for middle infield depth, but as the deadline approached, Brandon Crawford returned from knee inflammation and Thairo Estrada (fractured hand) turned a corner. Estrada has started a rehab assignment and could be back as soon as Thursday -- although Saturday is a more likely return date. 

Zaidi said the lack of action Tuesday was more about who is returning for the Giants than about what kind of deals could be made.

"It's really more just getting our guys back and feeling like our internal options (are good)," he said. "The younger guys have gone through some ups-and-downs, but if we have an injury we feel confident they can fill the void."

The Giants trust rookie Casey Schmitt at three positions and feel he has been having better at-bats the last couple of weeks. They optioned Marco Luciano back to Triple-A on Tuesday to clear a roster spot for Pollock, but they feel he's ready for the big leagues if needed again this season.

The Giants, of course, will have additional injuries, but they felt better about their internal options than what was out on the market. It's risky, because there's no way to add from this point on, but Zaidi said he didn't want to make a trade just to make a trade. 

After the Pollock trade on Monday, Zaidi was asked if he would be disappointed if that was all. He said he wouldn't be, and on Tuesday he doubled down.

"If the goal was to do something, we could have traded half of our farm system for a fifth starter," he said. "Somebody would have happily agreed to that deal. If you don't do something, it's just because there was nothing that made sense, and that was kind of the situation that we wound up with today."

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