The July 31st trade deadline is only nine days away and the Giants are sitting at 55-44 (.556) with a .002 pct lead on the Dodgers. It’s time to look at all the hottest rumours, evaluate the Giants biggest needs and find the most likely trade candidates.

Evaluating the Giants biggest needs:

Second Base:

Second base has been by far the biggest weakness in the lineup this year. Collectively the Giants second baseman have posted a .185/.277/.352 batting line, 67 wRC+ and a 0.3 fWar. That is unacceptable. Coming into Spring Training everyone was expecting that Marco Scutaro would be the starting but he went down with a back injury early on. Brandon Hicks was a welcome surprise, he was non-roster invite who won the starting job out of spring training. He started off great by hitting eight HR’s in April and May and playing good to decent defence depending on who you ask. (3 DRS and 0 UZR). He didn’t hit for much average but it ignore that when he was hitting HR’s. Then he stopped hitting HR’s, after that his stat line (.162/.280/.319) became hard to over look. He was designated for assignment on the 11th and then later assigned to Triple-A Fresno to serve as organizational depth. Luckily when Hicks was struggling former top prospect Joe Panik was hitting .321/.382/.447 in Triple-A Fresno so they promoted him on the 21st of June. Since his call-up he has disappointed, hitting 213/.269/.246 and has played decent defence (0 DRS and 0.3 UZR). He isn’t going to win any batting titles but he should be hitting better than this. Giants fans rejoiced when Marco Scutaro was activated from the 60-day DL on the 11th of July but sadly he has been a disappointment as well. He started 3 games since being activated, he missed a few games with a neck injury. It’s apparent he is still recovering and is not the answer at second base. In other news the Giants just signed former Atlanta Braves 2B Dan Uggla and assigned him to Triple-A Fresno. He was released on the 17th for hitting .162/.241/.231 and for being horrible fielder (-2 DRS and -0.8 UZR). I don’t expect him to be called up since he is the same player as Brandon Hicks with less defensive ability. The Giants also have Ehire Adrianza who is hitting 232/.281/.293 and is good with the glove (2 DRS and 1.2 UZR) and Joaquin Arias who does nothing good (.189/.213/.205 and -3 DRS, -0.7 UZR) So to summarize our problem at second base basically we have six guys who should be utility infielders some are good on defence some are not and no one can hit to save their life. Sabean save us.

Starting Pitcher:

For the third time in three months Matt Cain (2-7, 4.18 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 4.59 FIP) has hit the DL. Only this time the injury looks a lot more serious considering no one knows how long he will be out. Cain was quoted saying he doesn’t know when he will be able to grip or throw a baseball again. This is really bad news for the Giants. With Cain on the DL that means Yusemiro Petit (3-3, 3.86 ERA , 1.16 WHIP, 3.05 FIP) will be moved into the rotation. Petit isn’t horrible, in fact his stats don’t look that bad. His biggest problem is he doesn’t go doesn’t go very deep into games. He has gone less than six innings in four of his six starts. Whenever the Starting Pitcher fails to go at least six innings it puts extra wear and tear on the bullpen. Going forward it is going to be important to keep the

bullpen as fresh as possible. Even when Cain gets back from the DL there is still cause for worry since we are depending on Tim Lincecum (9-6, 3.68 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 3.84 FIP) and Ryan Vogelsong (5-7, 3.86 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 3.44 FIP) to continue pitching above their heads. I previously wrote an article talking about how Tim Lincecum’s recent streak of great starts is because of his ridiculous LOB% and BABIP which means regression is coming. If the Giants want to hold off the Dodgers for the division title and progress far in the playoffs its gonna be the Starting Rotation that will carry them. Brian Sabean is going to be forced to make a move for a Starting Pitcher to reinforce the rotation.

Rumors:

Bartolo Colon SP, Mets (8-8, 4.12 ERA, 1.184 WHIP, 3.57 FIP):

It has been reported that the Giants are interested in Bartolo Colon the 41-year old starting pitcher of the New York Mets. Colon’s ERA doesn’t look great but his peripherals has shown he should be doing better. Colon wouldn’t be a simple rental since he is signed through next year. He would be a nice Ryan Vogelsong replacement next year. The chances of a deal are not very probable considering the Giants wouldn’t be willing to make the trade unless the Mets ate some of the salary which Joel Sherman reported the Mets refused.

Daniel Murphy 2B, Mets (.287.334/.405, .739 OPS, 111 wRC+):

There is no guarantee that Dnaiel Murphy will be traded since the Mets have been trying to sign him to an extension. If he does get traded though he would be a solid pickup by the Giants. He wouldn’t be a rental either since he is eligible for his last year of arbitration next year. He has hit pretty well this season, his only downfall is his defence is questionable at best(-7 DRS and -1.9 UZR). He would probably cost Crick and another prospect which seems like a lot but he might be the piece that the Gianst need to make a serious run this year.

Asubral Cabrera 2B,SS Indians (.247/.308/.392, .699 OPS, 97 wRC+):

He hasn’t played second base since 2009, the reason he was moved was because he sucked (-4 DRS and -2.4 UZR) I don’t even know why the Giants are in talks for him, sure he is hitting better than the current rotation but he is still a bad offensive player. The one good thing about this trade is it wouldn’t cost as many prospects as a trade for Zobrist or Murphy. Even still I don’t like the idea of wasting time with such a marginal upgrade, if the Giants are serious about the season they need to make a real move at second. This is not that move. Besides he is only getting traded if the Indians fall out of contention.

Mike Aviles 2B, 3B, SS, OF Indians (.260/.277/.344, .621 OPS, 72 wRC+):

Mike Aviles is really useful, he can play all over the diamond. You know what he can’t do? Hit. You know what the Giants need? Someone who can hit. His wRC+ is only slighty better than the rest of the second baseman played by the Giants. They don’t need another utility guy who can’t hit, they need a starting second baseman, Mike Aviles is not that guy.

David Price SP, Rays (10-7, 3.06 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 3.00 FIP):

David Price is the biggest trade target on the market this year. He has been having arguably his best season ever, he has been striking out 10 batters and walking 1.42 per nine, both career bests. He would be a great Matt Cain replacement but the price for Price would be ridiculously high. Even more so because the Rays have recently made a surge and acctually have a chance to win the weak AL East. A deal for Price and or Ben Zobrist would require Sabean to sell most of the farm system. Even so Price could be the piece that the Giants need to win it all.

Ben Zobrist 2B, OF Rays (.260/.348/.398, .746 OPS, 115 wRC+):

I would be very happy if the Giants got Ben Zobrist. They will have to probably give up Kyle Crick and a lesser prospects. Some people may think that price is steep but consider this, he plays second and the outfield which gives the giants strategic options and he could be moved to the outfield in case Morse leaves this off season. He wouldn’t be a rental either since he has a very reasonable $7.5 team option next year. Apparently Jim Bowden of ESPN thinks that the Rays would be willing to part with Zobrist for Heath Hembree, Kendry Flores and/or Andrew Susac. If so then yes make the trade and make it now.

Chase Utley 2B Phillies (.284/.348/.475, .779 OPS, 115 wRC+):

After starting off the season really hot Utley has cooled down a bit. Even so he is still a very productive player. He is also very good defensively (2 DRS and 5.1 UZR). He is owed $10 million dollars next season but he has a clause that says he gets an extra $5 million if he spends less than 15 days on the DL because of knee injuries. That price tag even though it is not very big might still be too big for the cash strapped Giants. On top of the prospects it would take to pry Utley away from the Phillies convinces me that there is no deal to be made here.

Jake Peavy SP Red Sox (1-9, 4.72 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 4.81 FIP):

There are rumours going around that the Giants are interested in Jake Peavy. No, stop it now. Look at his numbers. Look at them. I don’t care if Bochy wants to reunite with him stop the talks now. I have been following Jake Peavy’s season extremely closely since he is on my fantasy team. I cringe every day it is his turn to pitch. The Giants need someone who they can be confident about going out to pitch every fifth day and Peavy is not this guy. The Red Sox would have to eat some of his salary otherwise the Giants wouldn’t consider it. Jake Peavy is not Cain replacement.

Dayan Viciedo OF White Sox (.236/.287/.400, .687 OPS, 86 wRC+):

When I first heard about this rumour the first thing I thought was “Who the hell is Dayan Viciedo”. The answer he is a young, cheap, team controlled outfielder who can’t hit or field (-10 DRS, -3.4 UZR). I understand the appeal of cost controlled young players but they are only useful if they are good players. Dayan Viciedo is not a good player.

What do you guys think? Who should the Giants top trade target be?