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| Brandon Belt hitting a dinger. Getty Images |
That is because every GM who is giving 'ol Sabes a call from now til July 31st is asking about one man and one man only: Brandon Belt.
Brandon Belt most assuredly is not going anywhere, he is too young, too talented and for the meantime too cheap for the Giants to want to move him for anyone. The list of guys who the Giants would part with Brandon Belt for is probably all of 2 people: Jose Altuve and that guy who just destroyed a ball to center field tonight against Bumgarner, Giancarlo Stanton. Neither of these guys will be had for merely Brandon Belt, and the Giants simply don't have anything they could add to that deal that would make it work.
Remember that amazing Giants farm system that brought us Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey etc.? There is literally no one close right now and the talent at the minor league level is about as thin as it was during the Bonds era. Baseball Prospectus has exactly 1 Giant in the top 100 prospects list: Kyle Crick. Even Crick hasn't been doing exceptionally well in double A Richmond just 6-4 with a 3.23 ERA.
The other "hot" pitching prospect the Giants have this year is Edwin Escobar who last year had a great season with Richmond. This year? Not so much. 3-8 with a 5.06 ERA.. ouch.
Basically I'm here to shoot down the dreams of trading for Stanton or Altuve. If you want to get something you have to give something and right now the Giants have nothing to give.
The A's made a big splash last week by trading for Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs, but to get him they had to give up Addison Russell, a consensus top 10 prospect and in some lists a top 5 prospect, a shoe-in star shortstop at the major league level who is only a year or two away from cracking a big league roster. The Giants do not have an Addison Russell in the system.
With Joe Panik already with the club, and Gary Brown being a unmitigated disaster in development, the Giants' best position player prospect is Andrew Susac and I don't see the Giants wanting to move him at all if they're still planning on Posey moving to one of the infield corners in a few years.
On the bright side, although the Giants can't make a big splash before the trade deadline, maybe they can make a small or even a moderate splash by getting an outfielder to help with the absence of Angel Pagan. With Brandon Belt back in the lineup and Joe Panik looking better everyday the offense can still do some damage.
Giants have averaged 8.5 runs in their last 2 games! What offense problems?! Get comfy there baby giraffe you're sticking around.
Laws of the Day
If Brandon Belt had the same amount of at-bats as Brandon Crawford, his pace would've put him at 18 home runs today.
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