The non-waiver MLB trade deadline is rapidly approaching as teams must make a deal by 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday. With the Giants, going into Friday night's game, 5.5 games back in the NL West and 4.5 games in the NL wild card race, what will the front office do?
On Thursday, Giants CEO Larry Baer joined KNBR to talk about the team and the upcoming trade deadline. Right away, Baer made it clear where his head's at with this team.
"It's pretty clear to us that we're not in a seller mode," Baer said.
That doesn't mean the Giants won't make a move. But it gets a bit complicated. The goal for the Giants is that if they have to trade a player, it's still to add as well.
"Now we may make a move to clear space, then make another move to add," Baer explained. "If you have to move somebody to add somebody -- move Player Y to add Player X -- then you can do that.
"We're not really walking in the room scratching our heads with buyer versus seller. We want to improve the team and we want drive to get there at the end of September to be a playoff team and go from there. That's what we're gonna do."
The Giants made it clear in the offseason they had no plans to rebuild, even after a 98-loss season. Throughout the winter, the front office preached their message of a "reload" over a "rebuild."
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"We're gonna be a buyer if we can be a buyer," Baer made clear on KNBR.
Starting with a 7-5 loss to the Brewers on Thursday night, the Giants are in a critical four-game home series with the team who currently sits atop the wild card standings. These four games could be a big factor in how the Giants view themselves for the trade deadline.
"We have a shot and we wanna take that shot," Baer said on the playoffs.
As far as the market on the trade deadline goes, Baer stated how a lot of big names have been moved early this year. He also said there's been a premium on bullpen arms, and the front office feels confident in the current construction of the bullpen, especially when Hunter Strickland returns.
No matter what the Giants do at the deadline, help is on the way. Evan Longoria returned to the lineup on Thursday night, Joe Panik began his rehab assignment in Sacramento, and Strickland isn't too far away either.
