SAN FRANCISCO — As the hours bleed away from Monday’s 1 p.m. (PT) trade deadline, Bobby Evans knows his options are diminishing. Target players are being dealt elsewhere, injuries have occurred, and teams are still straddling the barrier of buying or selling.
All three factors add up to a complicated trade market, one that’s much different than it even was a week ago. The Giants, once thought to be diving full boar into the relief market, are casting a wider net than maybe was expected.
“I don’t think we can stay singular in our thoughts,” Evans said. “… We have to react to the market.”
“The sellers are very motivated because return is high,” Evans continued. “It’s still a sellers market. You still stay open minded on opportunities to help the club … but the options are certainly diminished.”
Before resigning on the idea that the Giants might not make a deal, Evans said he’s still hopeful about making an acquisition. The caveat comes at team’s asking prices, and the Giants have balked at least one request. They talked with the Yankees about left-hander Andrew Miller, but discussions never progressed after they requested a player on the major league roster who wasn’t available.
The guess here is either Matt Duffy or Joe Panik, two young, promising infielders that aren’t strung to long-term contracts. But it seems the Yankees aren’t alone in trying to pry players off Giants’ roster. It’s a reality Evans accepts and isn’t closed off to. It’s just a balancing act, and he said the challenge is making sure the addition still outweighs whatever the subtraction(s).
“(We’re getting) lots of asks on the major league club,” Evans said. “That obviously is very challenging for us.”
Just in the last few hours, the Giants have been connected and disconnected to a plethora of names. The reports, and it seems the trade market, are incredibly fluid. The Giants’ biggest challenge will be negotiating with teams that are just as privy to the Giants’ weaknesses as they are.
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There’s still a game to be played for the trade deadline strikes on Monday’s off-day. Brandon Crawford is available to pinch hit but remains out of the lineup with a bruised thumb. Denard Span (sore quad) is out another day, but manager Bruce Bochy hopes to have him back by the team’s road trip to Philadelphia.
Matt Duffy is feeling well after beginning his rehab assignment on Saturday. He played five innings in Triple-A Sacramento, and will DH for seven innings on Sunday. Then he’ll fly to join Double-A Richmond, so he can be on the east coast while the Giants are. After returning Panik and Hunter Pence into the lineup, Bochy’s eager to round out the group with Duffy.
“It’s going to be great to see them all back again,” Bochy said.