It’s no secret that the Giants are having a historically bad year with little hope of turning things around in the second half of the season. Despite sitting at 36-59, San Francisco did seem to have some assets that they would be able to turn into pieces that could help them retool the roster for the next couple seasons.
However, with poor play across the board and a trade market that is quickly drying up the Giants seem to be stuck in a position where they would be getting cents on the dollar for many of their players, if they can even find a willing buyer at all.
Former MLB general manager Jim Bowden told The Audible Wednesday that he thinks the Giants will really struggle to find any value for their depreciating assets before the trade deadline.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a fun trade deadline for the Giants,” Bowden said. “Cueto’s got the opt out, he’s got the big contract. Samardzija, $95 million for that, no thank you. Stirckland can only pitch to one side of the plate and isn’t really beloved even by his teammates. I like Brandon Belt but the only problem is where is he going? The only fit was the Yankees, no one else needs a first baseman. (Joe Panik) can’t draw a big return. I think if the fans are expecting some trades to happen they’re going to be disappointed. The problem they’ve got right now is the guys that you would want to trade, that would have value, like Samardzija and (Matt) Moore, have just been so bad you can’t move them right now.
Despite the lack of possible trade options for the Giants, Bowden said that there is one move that might work for the Giants.
“The one deal that may make sense if they could get the right return is Nuñez to Boston,” Bowden said. “Boston badly needs a third baseman after losing out on Frazier. Nunez would be nice for them i’m just not sure they would be willing to give up the package it would take to get him from Bobby Evans.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Bowden’s comments on the Giants at the deadline, skip to the 3:25 mark.