SAN FRANCISCO–When the Giants signed Austin Jackson in January, they envisioned the veteran right-hander would form a productive platoon with emerging center field prospect and left-handed hitter Steven Duggar.

Jackson spent the first 91 games on the Giants roster and Duggar made his major league debut in the club’s 92nd contest, but the duo never enjoyed a day together in a big league clubhouse.

With the trade deadline more than three weeks away, the Giants sent Jackson, reliever Cory Gearrin and right-handed pitching prospect Jason Bahr to the Texas Rangers Sunday to clear roster spots for Duggar and reliever Ray Black.

The move accomplishes two goals for the Giants, as general manager Bobby Evans said it provides the club with financial flexibility under the luxury tax threshold while allowing two deserving players a chance to contribute to a Giants team that needs their help.

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Though final financial calculations are not made until after the regular season, the Giants are determined to stay below the $197 million luxury tax threshold this year. Because the Rangers agreed to take on the remainder of the salaries owed to Gearrin and Jackson, the Giants saved a little more than $2 million this season while also trimming an additional $3 million owed to Jackson off of their commitments for 2019.

The trade practically assures the Giants they’ll stay under the tax threshold while also providing a small amount of room for the club to add to its roster before the trade deadline.

“What this does do is it does create some additional buffer and flexibility below it which we can use as a way to improve the club if that opportunity comes at the deadline or along the way as well as the unpredictability of health,” Evans said. “We’ve had more than our share of injuries and that ultimately impacts our CBT.”

Because teams must pay injured players their full salaries, recent injuries to third baseman Evan Longoria and closer Hunter Strickland have impacted the Giants’ bottom line for the season as they must also pay their replacements major league salaries.

Both Duggar and Black will earn the major league minimum for the remainder of the season, which is an added bonus for a Giants team that should receive more contributions from the pair than it did from Jackson and Gearrin.

Evans said he spoke with Rangers general manager Jon Daniels for the better part of the last week before the two sides finally agreed to the terms of a deal that allowed the Giants to promote two more rookies to a club that has become progressively younger since Opening Day.

“I think there’s a lot of information that we’ve gathered in the first three months of the season that gives us an idea as to what Black’s capable of and what Duggar is capable of and also looking at the needs of our team as we get into the latter part of July here and August,” Evans said.

At 46-45, the Giants are still in the hunt in the National League West as they began Sunday’s series finale 4.5 games behind the first-place Diamondbacks. However, they’ve fallen to fourth place in the division and need to improve their production at the plate and in the outfield.

The addition of Duggar, a strong defensive center fielder, allows San Francisco to start a rangier unit whenever he’s in the lineup. Manager Bruce Bochy can shift Gorkys Hernández to left field or start rookie Austin Slater alongside Duggar in the corner.

Evans admitted the Giants thought Duggar would be in the major leagues by the middle of April, but the unexpected spark Hernández provided coupled with an early-season cold spell for Duggar kept the prospect at Triple-A.

Though Duggar’s bat might not be as advanced as the Giants hoped at this point, Evans said they needed a left-handed hitting outfielder to start against right-handed starters, especially because Bochy plans to start the switch-hitting Alen Hanson at second base during Joe Panik’s absence.

Before Panik’s groin injury, Bochy had the luxury of shifting Hanson to left field against right-handed starters and stacking his lineup with as many lefties as possible. But with Panik out for an extended period of time, the Giants couldn’t afford to have a rarely-used right-handed hitter like Jackson taking up a much-needed roster spot.

With the All-Star break rapidly approaching, the Giants need fresh legs and more athleticism. They’ve already received impressive contributions from younger players like Hanson, Andrew Suárez and Dereck Rodríguez, but to make a second half run, they’ll have to rely on a wider base of talent.

Jackson and Gearrin weren’t going to be the catalysts to trigger a playoff push, and because they were counted on so infrequently, it became increasingly difficult for the Giants to expect them to be a part of that wider base. On the other hand, Duggar and Black will have every opportunity to become meaningful contributors, which builds depth for a team that didn’t have enough of it entering the day.