San Francisco Giants Urged to Add Impactful Bat Ahead of Deadline

The San Francisco Giants have been urged to add an impactful hitter ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline.

Jul 28, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Oakland Athletics left fielder Miguel Andujar (22) hits an RBI fielder's choice during the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

With hours until the MLB trade deadline, it is still anyone’s guess what the San Francisco Giants are going to do. They look like a team that should be sellers, but there is some pressure on people in the front office to continue adding.

This past winter was a big one for the Giants, as they spent a lot of money. Some of their key pieces are coming back from injury, which provides optimism that things could turn around the final two months.

Alas, a lot of the rumors involving San Francisco are about them trading pieces away for assets. Ace Blake Snell has been mentioned a ton, but his contract presents a major obstacle to get around.

Only two games under the .500 mark entering play on Monday, the Giants are 3.5 games behind the New York Mets for the final wild card spot in the National League. Riding a four-game winning streak, their plans could have certainly changed over the last week.

A balancing act could certainly be done by this front office. Buying and selling simultaneously can help the team in the present and future, adding pieces to make a playoff push while laying the foundation for the future.

If San Francisco is going to make a move to acquire talent ahead of the deadline, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report has suggested a deal with the Oakland Athletics. Corner outfielder Miguel Andujar is who Kelly has proposed as the Giants' target.

“There's definitely a case to be made that the Giants should sell at this year's deadline, with Michael Conforto, Matt Chapman, Blake Snell, Lamonte Wade Jr., Taylor Rogers and Tyler Rogers. But with President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi's seat perceived as being warm and the Giants still within striking distance in the NL Wild Card race, that feels unlikely.

Another option is the Giants do a little buying and selling. From the buying perspective, Andujar has a 1.129 OPS for the A's this season. He could move across the bay and be a right-handed hitting corner outfield option for Bob Melvin, who has a pair of left-handed hitting outfielders—Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski—in the corners,” Kelly wrote.

Balancing out the outfield with a right-handed bat would go a long way for San Francisco. Especially if Michael Conforto or Mike Yastrzemski is on the move in a separate deal.

If the Giants opt to keep their current core, Andujar presents Bob Melvin with another good alternative to help when the team faces left-handed pitching. On the season, he is slashing .286/.313/.396 but against lefties those numbers skyrocket to .457/.500/.629 in 38 plate appearances.