San Francisco Giants President Under the Most Pressure During MLB Trade Deadline

The San Francisco Giants front office will face a great deal of pressure heading into the trade deadline.

Nov 9, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi answers questions from the media during the MLB GM Meetings at The Conrad Las Vegas. /

The San Francisco Giants have had a strange season, to say the least. Killed with injuries throughout much of the campaign, it's tough to blame the Giants players or front office for the product on the field at times.

While the team should've been much better for parts of the year, they had so many injuries that most teams would struggle if they were in their position.

However, San Francisco has managed to stay afloat somehow. Much of that is due to the National League struggling as a whole, but only being 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot with all of their injuries isn't a bad thing.

What they do at the trade deadline will be one of the more interesting stories around baseball. Blake Snell and Robbie Ray, two high-level left-handed pitchers, are expected back in the rotation in the near future.

If Snell and Ray come back and prove to be half of what they've been throughout their careers, the Giants will be in a great position in the second half of the season.

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi will be tasked with difficult decisions if they don't, and Jeff Passan of ESPN believes he's one of the executives with the most at stake this July.

"Speaking of the middle, the Giants have lived there all season -- for three years running, actually. They're near the second luxury tax threshold and shed some of Austin Slater's $4 million salary by trading him to Cincinnati on Sunday night. To get below the first threshold, they would need to deal away tens of millions more in annual salaries. Zaidi is under contract through 2026, but the clear expectation for San Francisco was to win this season.

"The Giants just returned and should get Blake Snell and Robbie Ray back in their rotation soon -- and in an NL wild-card scene where 86 wins should be enough for a playoff spot, there's reason for optimism. How to balance that hope with the abject averageness this team has displayed in recent seasons."

They can go a few different ways depending on the situation, even if they decide to sell a bit. Oftentimes, teams in the middle will buy a little and sell a little.

If they buy the right pieces, that's all that matters.

The next few weeks will be a big indication of what happens at the deadline. If San Francisco stays within a few games of the third Wild Card spot, all indications point to them buying.

Perhaps things go south, and they sell, but hopefully, that won't be the case.