On Father’s Day, the Giants shocked the baseball world by acquiring Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox. As the July 31 deadline approaches, there are still moves for San Francisco to make.
San Francisco enters the second half with a 52-45 record and a roster in need of reinforcements. The offense has been below average even with Devers, who has gotten off to a slow start. The bullpen currently lacks a leverage lefty with Erik Miller on the injured list. The rotation has considerably less depth after sending Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks to Boston as part of the Devers deal.
The Giants likely don’t have another Devers-esque deal in the cards, but they don’t need one of that magnitude to improve their team either. Here are five players who would make sense for the Giants to target:
DH/1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn, Baltimore Orioles
O’Hearn was a beneficiary of the Devers trade. With Devers no longer in the American League, O’Hearn became the leading vote-getter among designated hitters in the AL and made the first All-Star team of his career.
“I just wanna shoutout Craig Breslow real quick,” O’Hearn said of the Red Sox’s chief baseball officer in June. “Appreciate you, man, for helping me get in the standings.”
The Giants rank 27th in OPS (.650) since Devers played his first game with San Francisco on June 17, and the team’s first base tandem of Wilmer Flores and Dominic Smith hasn’t provided much offensively over the last month. Flores still leads the Giants with 55 RBIs, but he’s hitting .222/.322/.281 since his three-homer game against the Athletics in mid-May.
O’Hearn, who turns 32 on July 26, represents another impact bat. He’s in the midst of the best season of his career, hitting .286/.382/.458 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs. Along with the offense, his ability to play first base, left field and right field would provide manager Bob Melvin with lineup versatility.
OF Adolis García, Texas Rangers
The Giants have been one of the worst teams in all of baseball against left-handed pitching. Entering the second half, San Francisco ranks last in batting average (.213) and 27th in OPS (.623). Mike Yastrzemski has an .815 OPS against righties but a paltry .404 OPS against lefties, and no right-handed bat has emerged to platoon with Yastrzemski.
García is much more than a platoon bat, but with a career .720 OPS against lefties, he certainly stands to help in that department.
A two-time All-Star, García has been a below–average hitter the last two seasons (96 OPS+) but has slugged 135 home runs over the last five seasons, tied with Marcus Semien for the 14th-most league-wide. He’s an above-average defender with elite arm strength, and while his speed has declined, he’s still capable of turning on the burners when necessary.
OF Austin Slater, Chicago White Sox
If the Giants want someone who can hit lefties without giving up too much, there’s a familiar face on an expiring deal who’s playing on the worst team in the American League.
Slater, who the Giants traded to the Reds midway through last year, has bounced back after being riddled by injury last season. In 44 games for the White Sox, Slater has hit four homers with a modest .736 OPS. Against lefties, Slater has a .862 OPS this season and a .797 OPS over his career. Matt Chapman’s .771 OPS against lefties, for comparison, is the highest mark on the Giants.
LHP Caleb Ferguson, Pittsburgh Pirates
With Miller currently on the injured list due to a mild UCL sprain, the Giants’ bullpen is without a left-handed reliever who can pitch in leverage situations. While All-Star Randy Rodríguez has been excellent against left-handed hitters (.093 batting average, .107 slugging percentage), a leverage lefty would be invaluable in late-game situations.
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Ferguson, 29, has been excellent for the Pirates. The left-hander is posting a 2.70 ERA and 2.96 FIP over 40 innings in a setup role. He’s also holding left-handed hitters to a .196 batting average and .239 slugging percentage.
Along with Ferguson, the Cardinals’ Steven Matz could emerge as an option if St. Louis falls out of contention.
LHP José Quintana, Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers have too many starters and not enough starts to go around. While Quintana has pitched well for Milwaukee (3.28 ERA), it wouldn’t be shocking if the Brew Crew decided to part ways with the veteran left-hander by the deadline.
Quintana, who briefly pitched for the Giants in 2021, has quietly been a reliable starter over the last four seasons, posting a 3.37 ERA over 483 innings. The 36-year-old left-hander has a solid track record in the postseason as well, with a career 3.55 ERA and 3.52 FIP in October.