How did the SF Giants trade deadline compare to their divisional rivals?
The SF Giants didn't complete any more trades on deadline day, making their sole major league acquisition this week A.J. Pollock from the Mariners. While the trade deadline was quieter this year than most, due in part to the lack of high-caliber talent readily available, the other teams in the Giants' division made some splashes.
"It wasn't a super active deadline, and a lot of the big names that people thought might be moved at the deadline were not. You know, teams that were kinda on the bubble decided to push in...I think a lot of teams dealt with the same supply and demand issue that we did and ultimately didn't line up on anything," Farhan Zaidi told reporters Tuesday.
"If the goal was to do something, we could've traded half of our farm system for a fifth starter, somebody would happily agree to that deal. But we [didn't] do something, just because there was nothing that made sense," Zaidi continued. He also noted that given the return of Thairo Estrada and the success pitchers like Ryan Walker, Ross Stripling, and Sean Manaea have had, the Giants should be able to look internally for the help they need in the final two months of the season.
But while the trade deadline was quieter this year than most, here's a look at what the other teams in the NL West did:
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Giants' biggest rival and current competition for leader atop the NL West made several moves at the deadline. Their biggest move by far was in adding Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly from the White Sox in exchange for outfielder Trayce Thompson and pitchers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure.
Two-time All-Star Lance Lynn has regressed a bit in his 13th year at the big league level, sporting a career-worst 6.47 ERA and 28 home runs allowed this season. But with the Dodgers' pitching staff struggling even more than Lynn, he may be a welcome addition. In addition to Lynn, they also brought on Ryan Yarbrough from the Royals in exchange for a couple minor leaguers. Yarbrough's season has been on a trajectory of improvement since May and he's 4-1 in his last five starts.
Just before the Giants were set to play against him, the Dodgers brought back Kiké Hernández from the Red Sox in exchange for some pitching prospects. They also traded their offseason $13M investment Noah Syndergaard for the Guardians' Amed Rosario. To close out a flurry of activity, they offloaded several players for cash to the Mets, Tigers, and Rockies. They attempted to close a deal for Eduardo Rodriguez with the Tigers as well, but Rodriguez had a no-trade clause for LA in his contract, and the deal was canned.
San Diego Padres
The Padres, whose season has been underwhelming at best despite their star-studded roster, sit at fourth place in the NL West, three games below .500 at the deadline. After sweeping the AL West first-place Rangers going into the weekend, there was a growing sense that the Padres would attempt to add at the deadline in an effort to make a push for the playoffs.
And add they did; in a deal with the Pirates, who look to be throwing in the towel on this season, they acquired pitcher Rich Hill and DH/first baseman Ji Man Choi in exchange for two minor leaguers and young first baseman Alfonso Rivas. They also added DH and first baseman Garrett Cooper and pitcher Sean Reynolds from the Marlins. Right at the trade deadline, they announced they'd acquired relief pitcher Scott Barlow from the Kansas City Royals.
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks had a hot start to the season, shocking much of the baseball world when they held first place in the NL West above the Dodgers for some time. But midseason they appeared to have hit a bit of a slump and at the trade deadline were at third place in the NL West, just one game back from the Giants.
In order to supplement their roster, they went hard after Mariners' closer Paul Sewald, who they got in exchange for second baseman Josh Rojas, outfielder Dominic Canzone, and shortstop Ryan Bliss. Sewald has 21 saves in 24 opportunities, and sports a 2.93 ERA in 43.0 innings pitched, with just 14 earned runs and 60 strikeouts.
Giants fans will have mixed feelings about the other big name the Dbacks added; center fielder Tommy Pham joins the team from the New York Mets. Pham and the Giants' Joc Pederson had an altercation at Oracle Park in 2022 regarding a fantasy football disagreement. The Diamondbacks and Giants are in the middle of a four-game series, and it's very likely that Pham joins the team in time for the final game in the matchup.
The Diamondbacks also gained some depth in second baseman Jace Peterson from the Oakland A's and catcher Francisco Ortiz from the Rockies. Their final trade before the deadline was to acquire middle reliever Peter Strzelecki from the Brewers for their middle relief Andrew Chafin.
Colorado Rockies
Even the Colorado Rockies, who have spent almost the entire season at the bottom of the NL West and sit 15 games back from sniffing a wild card spot, made some trade deadline moves, though mostly to offload.
They dealt All-star C.J. Cron back to the Angels and threw in right fielder Randal Grichuk as well. They also sent veteran pitcher Brad Hand to the National League East leader in Atlanta.