San Francisco Giants: A guide to optimism in 2019

2. Veteran Trade Bait

At times it has been difficult to watch the Giants this season. This hasn’t been solely due to their poor performance, after all, many teams go through rebuilding periods where the organization simply isn’t all too successful.

But the issues lies therein; the Giants are a rebuilding team full of declining veteran players.

This is evidenced by the overall lack of speed on the roster and declining performance of veterans who were once cornerstones of one of the best teams in the league. They have now been relegated to artifacts of the past, as if the Giants organization was a living, breathing museum of baseball’s past.

But this doesn’t mean they can’t still provide value to the team.

No, not in the form of their on-field achievements — lord knows the Giants won’t be receiving much of that. Rather, some of these aging veterans could be used as trade bait for prospective playoff teams as the deadline approaches.

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We already talked a bit about Will Smith but elsewhere, the Giants could look to move a couple of their starters if the season continues to trend in this direction. Veteran Jeff Samardzija still has one more year on his contract, but the former Notre Dame tight end has a 2.53 ERA through six starts this season and could be a valuable commodity come late July.

But of course, the major storyline will surround longtime Giants legend and beloved fan-favorite Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner is on the last year of his contract and his time in the Bay Area appears to be all but over. If he can stay healthy, don’t be surprised to see MadBum moved before the end of the summer.

Elsewhere, the likes of Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, and Evan Longoria could find themselves on the move, although the poor play/contract of the latter could make it very difficult to find a dance partner. The Giants might have the most luck shopping Belt who has been arguably the team’s best hitter to this point with a .339 OBP and .819 OPS.

Regardless of what happens, it’s encouraging to see veterans like Smith, the aforementioned Melancon, Samardzija, and Belt performing admirably as they could be used to acquire much-needed minor league prospects come the trade deadline.

And boy do the Giants desperately need a revamped farm system.