The San Francisco Giants Need to Sell at the Deadline

Admittedly, the Giants have been on a nice run of games since the beginning of June. The team is 29-17 since June 1st, and have amassed a 15-4 record in July. It has helped them crawl above .500, and they are currently sitting at 52-51 on the season. This puts them 3.5 games back of the second Wild Card slot.

The Reason to Not Sell

The Giants have had their huge July on the backs of their starting rotation, led by Madison Bumgarner and Tyler Beede. Bumgarner is at the forefront of this spectacular July with a 1.96 ERA, giving up five runs in 23 innings of work. Tyler Beede has thrown 27.33 innings in July and has allowed eight runs(2.63 ERA). Jeff Samardzija has won three of his four July starts, sporting a 2.70 ERA in those four starts.

The team has also been hitting the ball really well in July. Their offense holds a 116 wRC+ in July. This places them seventh in all of baseball. The offense has a .814 OPS, which is good for second place in the National League. This team has played really well on both sides of the ball in July. There is plenty of reason to believe that they should hold onto Madison Bumgarner and others as the trade deadline moves closer.

The Reason to Sell

The San Francisco Giants need to be realistic. They might have a 3.5 game deficit in the Wild Card standings, but those 3.5 games also sees them having to vault over four teams to get into the second slot. It is a long shot, even if the Giants are playing really well. This team finished last year at 73-89 after buying during the winter. The Giants have lacked a direction and now is the time to pick the correct way to go.

The team as a whole has under-performed this season. While their small sample of July may look great, it would be a great time to cash in on some of their pieces. They have a lot of veteran pieces that could be very valuable for other teams during the home stretch of the season. Madison Bumgarner is the biggest piece, and fans will always remember his performances in the World Series runs earlier this decade. He could bring in a decent haul of prospects, especially with the way he has been pitching leading up to the deadline.

The Conclusion

It is time for the San Francisco Giants to stop holding onto a hope that they are good enough to win now, as it will only hurt them in the long run. Madison Bumgarner will not accept a qualifying offer, and it does not seem that the sides will be getting an extension signed. He is a legitimate weapon that any team would want in the post season, and not selling on him would be a bad look. He can always be resigned in the off-season. Add in relievers Tony Watson and Will Smith, and the Giants could accelerate their rebuild, and tinker more in the off-season to make a legitimate push.

The idea that the Giants could try to make a push and not sell their pieces is baffling. This team needs to pick a direction, as staying in the middle in baseball does not work out. The San Francisco Giants need to sell at this trade deadline in order to work on a better and brighter future. It might be Bruce Bochy’s last season, but the team will remain afterwards, and the franchise needs to do what is best for their future.

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