The San Francisco Giants took an odd approach to the 2024 MLB trade deadline that has come back to bite them.
It seemed like one of their goals was to save some money and clear salary cap space. That was the outcome of their deal with the Atlanta Braves which saw slugger Jorge Soler and relief pitcher Luke Jackson jettisoned out of town.
Alex Cobb, who had yet to start a game this season, was traded to the Cleveland Guardians.
It seemed that they were okay with selling and seeing where the chips fell once guys got healthy and returned to the lineup.
Then, ahead of the buzzer, the Giants acquired veteran Mark Canha from the Detroit Tigers, using the money they saved by moving Soler.
A conservative approach made sense at the time, since Bradford Doolittle of ESPN shared San Francisco only had a seven percent chance of making the postseason.
Right now, their chances of making the playoffs are only one percent.
Not going all-in as buyers was justified, especially when they have won the trades they made.
Their Net WPA is +0.58, with 0.34 coming in and -0.24 leaving. But, as Doolittle noted, it felt like a missed opportunity by the franchise to really reshape the team.
“The Giants have gotten good work from their lone 25-man roster addition, Mark Canha, though he has mostly played a fourth outfielder role. The Giants haven’t missed those they sent out — Jorge Soler, Luke Jackson, Alex Cobb — but the deadline work still seems unsatisfying. The Giants keep bobbing up and below .500 but as they tread water, the shore (as symbolized by playoff probability) keeps getting further away,” he wrote.
Would their chances of making the postseason have changed if they were a little more aggressive, upgrading their lineup beyond a solid, part-time veteran?
Perhaps, but there is also the other side of the coin.
They could have undergone a fire sale, moving their ace Blake Snell even if the return would have been a little bit underwhelming because of his contract situation.
Getting something in exchange for him ahead of the deadline as one of the best players available is better than watching him leave for nothing in free agency. That potential exists as all signs point to Snell declining his player option and hitting the open market again.
An argument could be made for every angle of how the Giants handled the trade deadline.
But everyone can agree, they would have been better off leaning into one of these scenarios instead of straddling the line, as they are currently stuck in no-man’s land.
