At least the SF Giants are making the trade deadline direction easy for the front office

The SF Giants have returned from the All-Star Break by dropping three out of four games, including two walk-off losses. It looks like there will be no last-minute surge, making the trade deadline approach even easier for the front office.

The Giants have looked like sellers almost as soon as the season began. The pitching staff has been an unusual weak spot on a team that has often been built around pitching and defense.

Despite a slow start, the offense has been surprisingly competent in 2026. That said, it has not been strong enough to overcome an ineffective bullpen.

The Giants will now turn their attention to the trade deadline and look toward 2027. The trade deadline is a fluid moment for a lot of teams, where front offices ponder whether buy, sell, or stand point.

The SF Giants have played better baseball lately but still not good enough

That decision can change in the days leading up to the deadline. A winning streak or losing streak can change a team’s position in the playoff picture. At times, teams change their decision within the last 48 hours of the deadline.

For the Giants, there will be no change in their narrative with two weeks to go before the deadline. They are sellers. They are 42-58 and are battling with the Colorado Rockies for fourth place in the NL West.

I only bring this up because they have played better baseball lately. No, seriously. While the sting of the walk-off losses might hide that fact. The Giants got off to a disastrous start to the season, but have had a modest turnaround, which is still not good enough, since then.

On May 31, they had a 23-36 record. They were trending toward a franchise-low season that would necessitate leadership changes again. Since then, they have put up a 19-22 record. A bad stretch, but not nearly as bad as the start of the year.

The Giants would be even better with a remotely competent bullpen. They got off to a solid first few weeks, but have struggled for much of the year. Since June 1, that unit has put up a 5.47 ERA. This was not part of the plan because they did not have one. They hoped things would go better, but hope is not an acceptable approach to a front office that committed $230 million into this year’s roster.

At the very least, there will not be a last-minute surge that convinces the team to approach the deadline any differently. They are sellers yet again.

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This article was originally published on aroundthefoghorn.com as At least the SF Giants are making the trade deadline direction easy for the front office.