Giants’ Report: Brandon Belt Set to Return and Trade Possibilities

Apr 18, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (9) celebrates with third base coach Tim Flannery (1) after a solo home run during the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Today is the day! Bradon Belt is set to return to the lineup in San Diego in today’s contest. According to Andrew Baggerly, he is expected to hit 2nd in the lineup, with Hunter Pence leading off. Hopefully this new 1-2 punch will bring some life to a stagnant Giants’ offense. Heck, scoring 2 runs may do the trick against the Padres, albeit Matt Cain (1-6) is on the bump Friday, and he never gets the “W” it seems. So maybe Saturday is the day we should expect a turnaround.

While Belt should add a nice boost to the lineup, it’s Angel Pagan that the Giants are really missing. Last season when he went down to injury, the Giants started a downward spiral. This season, the story remains the same. While Gregor Blanco shows that he can fill those shoes at times, it is not on a consistent basis.

The power surge that Michael Morse once provided has dried up over the past 30 days. In that span, he is closer to the level of production Joe Panik has provided in 1/3 of the plate appearances. With Belt’s return, Tyler Colvin could be seeing more time in left than was expected, with Morse seeing the bench. This is not what was envisioned when Morse signed his deal.

According to Brian Sabean, via Henry Schulman, “The future is now, or there is no future.”  In context, Sabean was apparently talking about the team needing to concentrate more on winning close games and that some players have stressed an urgency to win now. One can take this quote many different directions. The first is that the team needs to start winning, or this season is lost. A second would be that the team needs to start winning, or players in the farm system (the future) will be dealt to bolster the big-league squad.

Some rumblers have expressed an interest in Jose Altuve, but that seems like smoke to me. Altuve is the best player on the Astros, and their young talent is starting to mature and reach the majors. Trading Altuve now would hinder the future they have been waiting for.

One piece that could help would be David Price. Yes, he’s a sexy name this trade deadline, but the Giants could have him if 2 things are true. The first is that they are willing to trade future catcher, Andrew Susac. The second is if Buster Posey is serious about staying behind the plate.

Trading Susac would fill a need for the Rays, but they may be looking for a bigger haul.

The last trade possibility has next to no shot of happening, but it’s worth floating out there. Across the bay, there is a player by the name of Coco Crisp. He plays centerfield and is a superb leadoff hitter. Two voids the Giants currently have. It would take a lot to pry Crisp away from Oakland, because he is a big part of their offense, but they may be able to make due without him due to their plethora of outfielders. Yoenis Cespedes could slide into center, which would be an improvement solely because of his arm.

Again, the price tag would be high here. It could cost a Bradon Crawford-type, because that is what Oakland needs. Again, this is farfetched, but at the trade deadline anything seems possible.