Locked On Giants – Daily Podcast On The San Francisco Giants

All of a sudden, Joey Bart and Camilo Doval look like foundational future pieces for the San Francisco Giants. They brighten the outlook for next year's Giants, but they also have kept things interesting for the 2022 team that's still in the mix for a playoff spot. Matching up with the third wild card Padres is good for the Giants, and the first game of the series went their way. Luis González, Brandon Crawford, and Bart teamed up for one of the best relays we've seen from the Giants in a long time.

Since first featuring a sinker in a game a few weeks ago, Doval has looked like an elite closer. Those skills were on display in Monday's 1-0 Giants win over the Padres. Doval is getting swings and misses on the sinker and a ridiculous -24 degree launch angle on balls in play against the pitch. It's made his cutter and slider better as well, as evidenced by the fact that he blew 103 mph past Josh Bell, who's tough to strike out, to end the game. Doval pitched a 1-2-3 innings against Juan Soto, Manny Machado, and Bell. The Padres are 1-5 since acquiring Soto.

The Giants' position in the standings is discussed. The odds are still stacked against them, but they have a shot. There's still over 50 games to play and 5.5 games to make up. In addition, the lost 2020 minor league season is discussed.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Blue Nile

Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale … Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB.

Vroom

With Vroom, you can buy a car entirely online, and have it delivered straight to you, so you never have to go to a dealership again. So, next time you need to buy a car, just grab your phone, go to Vroom.com and check out thousands of great cars.

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Suddenly, the San Francisco Giants find themselves in an urgent position. The Padres, losers of four of five in the Juan Soto era, has fallen to third in the wild card standings. That's the position the SF Giants have been chasing, and the timing is good since the Giants are set to begin a three-game series in San Diego on Monday night. If the Giants sweep, they could be as few as 3.5 games back of a playoff spot. If they are swept, they would be 9.5 back. Huge swings are possible one way or the other. Will the Giants be up to the task?

Something else worth watching is what the Giants will do with their roster in order to add Evan Longoria today or tomorrow. Bryce Johnson and Luis González are candidates to be optioned; at some point, both may be optioned if the Giants decide to go back to 13 position players (as opposed to 14 with 12 pitch pitchers). There's a case to be made that the Giants shouldn't option those two, since the team is somewhat playing for 2023 at this point. But while they're still technically alive, perhaps they go with their veterans. Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford, and Thairo Estrada were added back over the weekend. Dixon Machado was DFA'd and Yermin Mercedes and David Villar were optioned out to make room.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Blue Nile

Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale … Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB.

Vroom

With Vroom, you can buy a car entirely online, and have it delivered straight to you, so you never have to go to a dealership again. So, next time you need to buy a car, just grab your phone, go to Vroom.com and check out thousands of great cars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aaron Judge to the San Francisco Giants? There's reason to believe he might actually want to play here, given that he grew up rooting for the Giants. San Francisco only has about $66.5 million on the books for 2023, so there's no reason they couldn't add a player of Judge's caliber even if they maintain the disappointing trend of spending about $160 million on their payroll. Signing Judge, extending Carlos Rodón, and making several other key additions could all be in the cards for the Giants if they play their hand right, but will they?

How badly did the Giants screw up the trading deadline? Fans want to know, after the team didn't really buy and didn't really sell amidst a highly frustrating and disappointing 2022 campaign. However, making a trade just for the sake of making a trade wouldn't have been wise. Rodón has value for the Giants for the rest of the season, and they can also give him a qualifying offer after 2022. Other top rentals like Willson Contreras weren't dealt, suggesting that the offers in this segment of the market simply weren't good enough.

Can Mike Yastrzemski or LaMonte Wade Jr. be optioned? Neither has been particularly productive for the Giants in 2022. Wade can't be optioned, which is a problem considering he has basically contributed nothing to the team this year. Yastzemski, as much as he has established himself at this point, can (and possibly will) be optioned. The Giants have a roster crunch coming up with four players set to return from injuries, and they'll have to make some difficult decisions.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Blue Nile

Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale … Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB.

Vroom

With Vroom, you can buy a car entirely online, and have it delivered straight to you, so you never have to go to a dealership again. So, next time you need to buy a car, just grab your phone, go to Vroom.com and check out thousands of great cars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The San Francisco Giants have another roster crunch upcoming, with several players set to return from the injured list in the coming days. How they're going to fit those players onto the roster remains to be seen. Prior to last night's game, speedy outfielder Bryce Johnson was added to the Giants' roster. Johnson gives the SF Giants a rare element on this team: disruptive speed and high-end defense. But will he stick on the roster?

Brandon Crawford and Joc Pederson are set to return on Saturday. Thairo Estrada will re-join the Giants on Sunday. Evan Longoria is likely to be added to the SF Giants' roster early next week. So who's going to come off the roster? David Villar can be optioned, but should he be? Is it really worth playing Longoria over Villar if the 2022 season is lost (which it isn't quite yet) and they don't expect him to be a part of next year's team (also unclear)? Yermín Mercedes can be optioned. The Giants will likely DFA Dixon Machado this weekend. But even if they make all of those moves, they'll still need to make more. Will the Giants option promising youngsters like Luis González or Johnson? Or will they finally cut ties with a struggling veteran like Tommy La Stella. whose tenure in San Francisco has been a disaster?

As our attention turns towards the future, Joey Bart is highlighted. Bart's numbers since getting called back up by the Giants in early July are eye-opening. He's been striking out less, chasing less, and making more contact on swings in the strike zone. He's also showing more confidence and leadership, and has done a very good job defensively, whether it's framing pitches, blocking, or throwing out baserunners.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Blue Nile

Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale … Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB.

Vroom

With Vroom, you can buy a car entirely online, and have it delivered straight to you, so you never have to go to a dealership again. So, next time you need to buy a car, just grab your phone, go to Vroom.com and check out thousands of great cars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The San Francisco Giants are stuck in the middle. From their 50-52 record to their half-hearted deadline, the SF Giants are in purgatory. They are neither awful nor great. They neither bought nor sold. This is the Giants' fourth year under Farhan Zaidi, and they have yet to make an aggressive move one way or the other. Sure, they've brought in some power arms who have turned out to be great, like Kevin Gausman and Carlos Rodón, but on the whole, the Giants haven't come close to putting together an exciting roster. They deserved the benefit of the doubt after winning 107 games last year, but trust in the front office has eroded after a disappointing 2022 season.

The Giants' deadline moves are revisited, particularly their acquisition of J.D. Davis and three prospects from the New York Mets for Darin Ruf. Davis fits the Giants' roster better than Ruf turned out to fit, and significantly Davis appears to be an immediate and longer-term option at third base. David Villar hasn't been particularly effective at the plate or on the field for the Giants thus far, and Davis may take that role away from him. Villar can be optioned, but it's debatable whether the Giants should be taking playing time away from a rookie right now given their low playoff odds.

Joey Bart's development is also discussed. The development of young players is a huge part of the rest of the season. Bart had a great game last night, homering and throwing another runner out on the bases. If the Giants aren't going to make the playoffs, watching players like Bart over the final two months will be among the most significant reasons to watch the Giants.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Blue Nile

Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale … Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB.

Vroom

With Vroom, you can buy a car entirely online, and have it delivered straight to you, so you never have to go to a dealership again. So, next time you need to buy a car, just grab your phone, go to Vroom.com and check out thousands of great cars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the end, the San Francisco Giants were sellers, but they didn't sell their top assets. The Giants traded Darin Ruf to the Mets in a deal that brought back J.D. Davis and three minor leaguers. They traded Curt Casali and Matt Boyd to the Seattle Mariners. And the Giants traded Trevor Rosenthal, just signed less than two weeks ago, to the Milwaukee Brewers. The SF Giants held onto Carlos Rodón and Joc Pederson.

The Ruf trade was the most significant move the Giants made. The team was so enamored with Ruf that they gave him a two-year extension prior to the season, with a club option for a third year. But his performance fell off in 2022, especially when thrust into more of an everyday role, and he became expendable. J.D. Davis is a similar player in a lot of ways, another DH type, but he doesn't have big platoon splits and is above-average at the plate against lefties or righties. He can play third, left, and first, none particularly well.

Rodón not being dealt probably just means that the offers weren't good enough. He was pretty clearly available, but the Giants needed to be compelled to give up on their season and give up the potential draft pick compensation they'd receive if he rejects the qualifying offer and signs elsewhere. Other top rental options such as Willson Contreras and J.D. Martinez were also surprisingly held onto.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres acquired Juan Soto. It's a brutal outcome from the perspective of Giants fans, who've seen a serious influx of star power into the NL West in recent years—none of it with the Giants and all of it with the Dodgers and now Padres. San Diego gave up a haul to get Soto (they also acquired Josh Bell in the same deal and Brandon Drury in a separate one), but the NL West just got that much better.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Blue Nile

Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale … Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB.

Vroom

With Vroom, you can buy a car entirely online, and have it delivered straight to you, so you never have to go to a dealership again. So, next time you need to buy a car, just grab your phone, go to Vroom.com and check out thousands of great cars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The MLB trade deadline is just over 24 hours away, and the San Francisco Giants could be major players, potentially in both directions. Carlos Rodón could be the best starting pitcher available if the Giants decide to move him, which is a very real possibility. The Reds got a major haul for ace starter Luis Castillo, who is under club control through 2023, and it makes sense for the SF Giants to try to get somewhat similar value for Rodón. He will cost less, given he has an opt-out after the season which makes him essentially a rental, but there is a limited supply of starting pitchers and a huge demand. Given the Giants' position in the standings, they should probably trade him.

Reports are that the Giants want major-league-ready talent in return. Some teams that make sense include the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Seattle Mariners. But realistically, any team with playoff aspirations will want Rodón. As he showed last night, he's capable of taking over a baseball game on any given night. That would absolutely play in October, which suggests that the Giants may be able to do well in a trade. Since the San Francisco Giants are still in the playoff race, and since they could give Rodón the qualifying offer and receive draft compensation if he ends up signing elsewhere (which is likely), the Giants can demand a hefty return that justifies punting on their season and sacrificing a second-round-type talent.

In other news, the Giants had a powerful and thrilling number retirement for Will Clark. Clark's speech and all of the festivities were a good reminder that this Giants team needs more passion and fire. They need an everyday position player to bring excitement back to the ballpark. It was a beautiful ceremony for a more than deserving player. Well done all the way around. Also, Thairo Estrada was hit in the head by a pitch and put on the concussion IL. The Giants made a minor trade for Dixon Machado to fill in at short in the interim as Estrada and Brandon Crawford heal up.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Blue Nile

Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale … Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB.

Vroom

With Vroom, you can buy a car entirely online, and have it delivered straight to you, so you never have to go to a dealership again. So, next time you need to buy a car, just grab your phone, go to Vroom.com and check out thousands of great cars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The San Francisco Giants are in limbo. On the one hand, they've played terrible baseball since the All-Star break, are below .500, and are out of playoff position. On the other, the Giants are still in the race (FanGraphs gives them about a 25% chance of making the postseason) and their run differential suggests they should be a few wins better. The trade deadline is just a few days away and it's still not clear whether the SF Giants are buyers or sellers.

Are they more likely to buy, sell, or stand pat? The only thing that doesn't make a ton of sense is standing pat. The roster clearly needs help if they're trying to win in 2022, and minor additions for defense-oriented players wouldn't necessarily cost a ton in terms of prospect capital. Bullpen pieces should be available as well for a reasonable price. If the Giants decide to sell, they'll have one of the best trade chips around in Carlos Rodón.

Other questions asked on today's mailbag edition of Locked On Giants include: Is there any silver lining at all to tanking at the worst possible time in the season? Should the Giants trade for Jazz Chisholm and Pablo Lopez? Are Mike Yastrzemski and LaMonte Wade Jr. possible trade candidates?

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Sports Card Investor

Download the Sports Card Investor App today and easily browse over 630K cards from every sport, with hundreds more added each week . Available for free in the Google Play and Apple App stores or go to sportscardinvestor.com/lockedon.

Blue Nile

Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale … Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The San Francisco Giants may very well be sellers. Their awful performance coming out of the All-Star break has the Giants two games below .500 and 3.5 games out of the third and final Wild Card position. If the SF Giants sell, Carlos Rodón figures to be their best trade chip and one of the top players available at the deadline.

What exactly could the Giants get for Rodón? While he is very good and could help a team win a title, he is likely just a two-month rental, and returns for rentals tend to be limited. The Giants would likely need to be overwhelmed in order to move him, considering they'd essentially be giving up on their season and they can give him the qualifying offer and get draft pick compensation if he leaves. So the Giants do have some leverage in this situation. Joc Pederson would be another target of other teams, but the return for him would be far less significant. Pederson has generally been a disappointment in San Francisco after a hot start. He's limited defensively and on the bases, and can only hit right-handed pitching.

Other questions addressed in today's mailbag: Is Giants ownership responsible for the team's relative lack of spending? If the Giants do buy, would Ian Happ make sense? How can the Giants stay competitive if they keep "cheaping out" on pitching? Are we sleeping on Trea Turner as a possible free-agent signing this offseason? Might the Giants target Joey Gallo if they fail to sign Aaron Judge?

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Sports Card Investor

Download the Sports Card Investor App today and easily browse over 630K cards from every sport, with hundreds more added each week . Available for free in the Google Play and Apple App stores or go to sportscardinvestor.com/lockedon.

Blue Nile

Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com. And, going on now is the Blue Nile Anniversary Sale … Save up to forty percent on classic fine jewelry pieces and twenty-five percent on engagement ring settings. Shop stress free and find your forever piece. Go to BlueNile.com today.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Did you know every week, nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONMLB.

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The San Francisco Giants are in a tailspin. They've lost seven straight coming out of the All-Star break. They're two games below .500. Their playoff odds are fading fast. With less than a week until the trade deadline, the Giants increasingly look like they'll be sellers. Who's to blame for the Giants' unacceptably poor performance in 2022?

Most of the blame should fall on those who constructed the Giants' deeply flawed roster. They've got players out of position all over the field. They're old and unathletic. Indeed, the SF Giants front office built this roster and they must take responsibility for it. There were numerous star position players out there in free agency this winter. Why didn't the Giants sign any of them? Why was their payroll flat from last year to this year? Giants ownership may be to blame for that, but Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi has said that ownership is supportive of higher payrolls. We'll take Zaidi at his word, which means he takes the majority of the fall for this seemingly doomed roster.

Manager Gabe Kapler may not be perfect, but he's mostly just working with what he has. The Giants' problem isn't their platoons; it's their lack of impact everyday talent. If you have a few impact regulars, go ahead and platoon everywhere else. But they don't have any impact regulars in the lineup. On the contrary, they have platoon players who are frequently bad defenders who play out of position.

Carlos Rodón had a little blowup in the dugout in his start on Tuesday, kicking a bat into Thairo Estrada. It was a bad look for Rodón, who's time with the Giants may be coming to an end because the Giants look increasingly likely to trade him by next Tuesday's deadline.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

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