SF Giants: A retrospective on Farhan Zaidi's trade deadline history

With one big exception, SF Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has been conservative in his midseason moves.

While the SF Giants have some obvious holes, fans should never expect Farhan Zaidi to make big moves at the trade deadline. That simply hasn't been his history. And in 2023, he continued his cautious approach.

Zaidi took over a team that had gone 73-89 in 2018, and 64-98 the year before. True fans call this the "Ryder Jones Era." In his first season, the Giants were mired in last place for most of the season, before going 19-6 in July to vault themselves into second place.

Perhaps because of the surge, perhaps because it was Bruce Bochy final season as manager, or perhaps because no team met his asking price, the Giants held onto their most appealing impending free agents, starter Madison Bumgarner and closer Will Smith.

Instead, Zaidi took advantage of the bull market for relievers to clear out the fringes of the bullpen - and dump one large contract. Out went Mark Melancon and his $14 million deal for 2020, along with Ray Black, Drew Pomeranz, and Sam Dyson.

The big prize was Mauricio Dubón, Milwaukee's No. 3 prospect at the time. The team also landed pitcher Tristan Beck, who's enjoying a solid rookie season, along with Taiwanese pitcher Kai-Wei Teng (promoted to Triple-A Sacramento in June), Jaylin Davis, and Prelander Berroa, swapped to Seattle last year for Donovan Walton.

Zaidi also traded for Scooter Gennett to replace Joe Panik at second base, only to release him four weeks later. Ultimately, the Giants failed to make the playoffs, but they did restock the farm. When Smith and Bumgarner left as free agents, the Giants got lefty junk baller Nick Swiney (promoted to Triple-A this year) and shortstop Jimmy Glowenke, currently at Richmond.

2020 was a strange year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 60-game season, the 16-team playoff field, and a World Series that barely counted. The Giants had a very quiet deadline, doing very little beyond releasing Hunter Pence and Dereck Rodriguez. A week later, they signed Justin Smoak and released Pablo Sandoval, with Smoak lasting only 13 days after going 0-6. The team missed the playoffs, which once again, barely counted. You hear that, Dave Roberts?

In 2021, Zaidi made his first really big trade as the boss, sending 21-year-old outfield prospect Alexander Canario and pitcher Caleb Killian to the Chicago Cubs for 2016 NL MVP Kris Bryant. MLB.com ranked the slugging Canario the Cubs No. 10 prospect before the season, and had Killian at No. 17, though Killian has struggled at Triple-A Iowa and in three big league starts.

Bryant was slightly disappointing in 51 games with the Giants, hitting .262/.344/.444 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in 51 games. But he filled a huge lineup hole, playing third base and all three outfield positions, and the Giants went 42-16 to close the season after the deal.

Their prized deadline acquisition also delivered in the playoffs, hitting .471/.500/.647 in the Giants' first-round loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bryant homered in Game 1 and reached base three times in their Game 5 loss, just one fewer than the rest of his teammates combined.

As Bryant was a midseason acquisition, the Giants weren't able to make him a qualifying offer, so when he signed with Colorado for seven years and $182 million, the team got no draft pick compensation. But it looks like they dodged a bullet. Bryant has struggled to stay healthy, playing just 107 games for the Rockies so far, and hitting only 13 home runs despite playing half his games at Coors Field.

Zaidi also brought back lefty specialist Tony Watson in exchange for reliever Sam Selman and two minor league relievers, Ivan Armstrong and José Marte. Watson went 4-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 26 appearances down the stretch, before missing the last four games and the playoffs with a shoulder strain.

Selman is now out of major league baseball, Marte struggled in a few big league appearances, and Armstrong, still only 23, is a fringe prospect in Double-A for the Angels.

Last year, with the Giants hovering around .500, Zaidi's approach was similar to 2019: Jettison non-essential players, and make upgrades around the edges of the roster, while holding onto the biggest asset.

Carlos Rodón stayed put, partly because of his unique contract situation, where his $22 million player option for 2023 created uncertainty. Or the Giants valued the compensatory pick for Rodon signing elsewhere, the No. 69 pick which they used on Kent State lefty Joe Whitman (more on him here). Or, Zaidi just didn't want to make a dramatic move and deal away his top starter.

Instead, Zaidi made a great trade with the New York Mets, flipping Darin Ruf for J.D. Davis, Thomas Szapucki, and minor-league pitchers Nick Zwack (6.28 ERA at Double-A Richmond) and Carson Seymour (a top-25 prospect in our midseason rankings). Just getting Davis for Ruf would have been a steal, especially after the Giants got Ruf back briefly this year after the Mets released him.

Zaidi also gave up on two bets he'd made earlier on injured pitchers. The Giants gave Matthew Boyd $5.2 million knowing he'd be out half the season, but traded him to Seattle along with backup catcher Curt Casali before he threw a pitch for the Giants. The return was 26-year-old Michael Stryffeler and catcher Andy Thomas, the Mariners' fifth-round pick in 2021. Stryffeler has missed most of the season with an injury and Thomas is struggling at Double-A, but this deal was mostly a salary dump.

Zaidi also signed reliever Trevor Rosenthal to a $4.5 million deal July 21 and traded him to Milwaukee 12 days later, with Rosenthal also never appearing for the Giants. Milwaukee sent outfielder Tristan Peters to the Giants, who traded him for Brett Wisely in November. It's a nice bit of business to turn the minimal investment in Rosenthal into a useful player, but not an earth-shaking deadline deal.

This year, Zaidi's deadline activity was even quieter. The only deal was trading for 35-year-old A.J. Pollock and 28-year-old utility player Mark Mathias, who went to Triple-A. The Giants only gave up a player to be named or cash considerations, but also received cash considerations from Seattle, so this may just be accounting. Or money laundering.

It's a remarkably passive trade deadline for a team that's leading the wild card standings, and one with obvious places for improvement. Perhaps they consider the imminent return of Thairo Estrada and the less-imminent return of Mitch Haniger to be better upgrades than any on the trade market. Perhaps injuries to Keaton Winn and Kyle Harrison ruined Zaidi's plans to deal from his starting pitching surplus.

But looking at the last five seasons, it simply feels like Farhan Zaidi doesn't like giving up prospects - any prospects - at the deadline. And while the SF Giants continue to do a good job at getting cheap (or free) talent for the bottom of their roster and the minors, this trade deadline exemplified what's continued to be the team's big weakness: A lack of impact players.