San Francisco Giants Biggest Question After Trade Deadline Is All About Their Offense

The San Francisco Giants didn't address this issue during the trade deadline, but could still have enough to succeed.

Jul 30, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman (26) reacts after the error fielding a ground ball against the Oakland Athletics during the eighth inning at Oracle Park. / Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants took an interesting approach during the trade deadline. It looked like the front office wanted to take an approach that was smart, not too risky, and could still allow them to make the playoffs potentially.

However, they're heavily banking on pitchers who've been injured for most of the year to come back and be the arms that they've been throughout their careers, which does pose some worries.

Factor in some of those questions with the Giants' below-average offense, and it's fair to question if this was the right way to address the deadline. And that's exactly what Maria Guardado of MLB.com questioned. Guardado wonders if San Francisco can do enough offensively to support their rotation.

"Among Blake Snell, Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong, the Giants have what they believe is “the best rotation in baseball.” The offense, however, is much more questionable, especially after the club traded slugger Jorge Soler to the Braves. 

"Without Soler, the Giants will need veterans Michael Conforto, Mike Yastrzemski and LaMonte Wade Jr., and youngsters Heliot Ramos, Tyler Fitzgerald and Marco Luciano to produce consistently and score enough runs to back their elite pitching down the stretch."

Looking at the season that the Giants have put up offensively, it leaves much to be desired. They currently rank 14th in batting average, 12th in OBP, 18th in OPS, and have hit the seventh fewest home runs in baseball.

Their lack of power has been a major issue all year, and moving Jorge Soler certainly won't help that.

Given what the staff could be when they're fully healthy, it's fair to wonder if they have enough offensively to just get by. In the postseason, games are typically won because of pitching, but in today's game, teams also have to hit. 

If they're going to go out and only score a few runs, just like they did against the Oakland Athletics in their recent series, scoring just three runs in two games against one of the worst teams in baseball, it's going to be a major issue as they try to make the postseason.

4.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot, San Francisco is in a position to make the postseason. It'll be interesting to see if they complete that task, but there's more than enough on the pitching side of things to do so.

If the offense can step up, things will be even easier.