Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi finds himself in quite the conundrum before the July 31 MLB trade deadline.
With an 11-5 win over the Rockies on Wednesday, the Giants completed a four-game sweep at Coors Field and have now won 12 out of their last 14 contests. Prior to the Diamondbacks facing the Rangers later in the night, San Francisco currently is 2.5 games out for the second NL wild card spot.
But the Giants appear to be still be sellers at the deadline, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported earlier in the day. If that's the case, the front office could move more than just pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith.
If the Rangers -- who recently have slipped in the AL wild card standings -- are buyers, they could be suitors for a Giants bat. Brandon Belt would be a major upgrade at first base over Ronald Guzman, which is one reason why ESPN's Dave Schoenfield believes Texas should make a move for the long-time Giant.
"They need a first baseman and Belt's numbers would take a leap moving over from San Francisco," Schoenfield wrote Tuesday.
Belt, a Texas native, has hit eight of his 11 home runs on the road this season and his batting average nearly is 70 points higher -- .272 compared to .203 -- away from Oracle Park. He is signed through 2021 at $17.5 million per season, and might not be an easy contract to move, however.
Trading Belt could open a spot for Zach Green, who is not on the 40-man roster but has hit 22 home runs in Triple-A for the Sacramento River Cats this season. With Belt gone, the Giants could also move Chris Shaw back to first base. The former first round pick has caught fire in Sacramento and has 18 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A this season.
Sports
[RELATED: How Dickerson has conquered the horrors of Oracle Park]
All this is speculation, though. Belt hasn't been a name thrown around in trade rumors yet and it's highly unlikely the Giants actually move the former All-Star this season.
