Weighing In: Giants Stand Pat at Deadline

San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean couldn’t make any deals at the trade deadline. Was this actually a good thing?

It’s tough to tell whether to be bummed out, elated, or … somewhere in the middle after the MLB Trade Deadline, if you’re a San Francisco Giants fan.

After all, with all the talk of Los Gigantes desperately needing a second-baseman, it would only make sense for the team to trade for one. After all, this was a team who, at one point early in the regular season, was a full 9-and-a-half games clear for the NL West lead. While their subsequent collapse can be blamed on a lot of other things besides the effectiveness of the 2B position, it was certainly a big contributor. Apparently, the Giants collectively trot out the worst stats at second base in 2014 (league-worst .176 BA, 22 XBH, collective .259 OBP)

Thanks a LOT, Uggla.

But, the trade deadline came and went … and it was all quiet on the Western Front. A lot of rumors and buzz, but no deals that materialized. Meanwhile, their more successful counterparts across the bay – sacrificing one of their best young sluggers – traded for more firepower in their rotation that will likely help in a deep playoff run.

So, what gives, Sabean? Why couldn’t you pull off a splashy move to help fix the problems San Francisco had been having for the past two months – especially at the one position that needs offensive help the most?

Probably because the Giants weren’t sure a splashy move would have been worth mortgaging whatever talent they had left.

The fact is that San Francisco pundits aren’t even sure how good they are – at least, when everyone is healthy. With Marco Scutaro and Angel Pagan still out of commission, and the rumors going around that SP Matt Cain may need Tommy John surgery (rumors that were squashed earlier today, though he could still need bone spur surgery), the Giants are far from evaluating anything properly.

So, all they can do is roll with what they have. And, sure, it doesn’t look like much, but Joe Panik and Andrew Susac are new at this whole big-league thing, and their potential at their respective positions was probably worth more to the organization than making a quick-fix move that might not even work out, in terms of winning the division.

The fact is, as of right now, the Giants are looking up at their most bitter rival, the Dodgers, in the middle of a hot streak of their own. Their pitching is as strong as ever, and they simply keep winning games when they need to. The only thing San Francisco fans can hang their hat on was, despite not making any deadline moves, the Dodgers also stood pat, with reliever being a position of need.

That said, was it smart for the Giants to do nothing at the deadline? Depends on who you ask. But it’s not like they came away empty-handed – they did grab SP Jake Peavy to essentially replace Cain in the rotation.

“Hello.”

It’s not a barn-burner like the splash Oakland made, but it’s something.

All the Giants can do now is weather the storm, get everyone healthy, and hope for the best.