The good, the bad and the ugly of the Giants' 2025 trade deadline

New York Times

5 days ago

It wasn't a complete teardown, that much is clear. When Buster Posey was asked during a post-deadline press conference if the Giants planned to contend in 2026, he started repeating 'yes' before the question was even half-finished. A complete rebuild would have meant dealing Robbie Ray, who instead will be around to help next season. The 2026 Giants are still planning to win. That's the biggest organizational story of the deadline.
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It's a story that will get lost in the dust kicked up by the more obvious story, though, which is that the Giants were also moderately aggressive sellers at the deadline. They didn't give up on the 2025 season, but they didn't not give up on it, either. They traded Mike Yastrzemski and Tyler Rogers, two long-tenured fan favorites and pending free agents. They traded Camilo Doval, under team control through 2027. Both Posey and GM Zack Miniasian raved about the prospects they got back from the Yankees in return for Doval, even if our own Keith Law is less impressed.
Let's try to make sense of all this. Let's look at what was good, bad and ugly about the Giants at the 2025 MLB trade deadline.
An important consolation prize following a brutal collapse and reversal of expectations. There will be shiny new prospects and players with which to entertain the masses, and there's always a chance that one of them starts hitting or pitching well right out of the gate. There's also a much, much stronger chance that they'll initially be overmatched in the major leagues, which are hard, but that's OK. It'll still be compelling baseball.
Drew Gilbert is an obvious replacement for Yastrzemski, and not only because he's a left-handed outfielder. He has a remarkably similar profile to Yastrzemski, doing a little bit of everything well, which makes up for the lack of a standout tool or the ability to hit left-handers. The Giants specifically mentioned catcher-infielder Jesús Rodríguez, one of the prospects from the Yankees, as someone they're excited about. He's a right-handed hitter with the ability to catch, and the Giants currently have a catcher who doesn't have much ability to hit right handed. That's not to say the Giants are going to make an immediate move, but he's already on the 40-man roster, and the fit would certainly be there in September.
Blade Tidwell is also already on the 40-man roster, and he appeared in the majors for the Mets this season. He has some goofy stuff, and here's some of it against a team the Giants just faced:
Just a cool 98-mph fastball with a tight 90-mph slider. That should work.
What's the catch, you might ask? Well, he has no idea where the ball is going a lot of the time, and while you'll probably see him start some games over the next two months, his future will be in the bullpen until he can throw strikes for six innings.
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Most of the teams who were buyers at the deadline aren't even worried what their new players will do over the next two months. They'll be far more concerned about whatever they're going to do on Oct. 8, or what have you. If you think you have any idea what a baseball player is going to do in two hours, much less two months, good luck. The entire deadline is ridiculous.
But one thing that makes contending teams feel better about themselves is stocking up on high-leverage bullpen arms. There are always monsters in the closet and under the bed of every postseason team, but getting a bunch of late-inning help is like closing the closet door, at least. That's why the Mets added Ryan Helsley in addition to Rogers, and it's why the Padres parted with one of the best prospects in baseball to get Mason Miller. They're not going to be stuck in 2031, wondering what would have happened if they could hold a lead in 2025.
Doval is under contract for two more seasons, which goes against the 'we'll be back in 2026' line, but relievers are a different kind of story. In theory, it's better to sell bullpen arms a year or two too soon rather than a year too late. I'm old enough to remember when Ryan Walker had one of the best relief seasons in Giants history. These sorts of things can change quickly, so if a reliever isn't in your long-term plans, collect prospects and find another one. I've been on the What About a Doval Trade? beat since 2023, and I'm always quick to hop on the Trade Every Reliever bandwagon when the timing and prices are right.
Except Tyler Rogers. That one stings.
Good luck, wacky baseball man.
The Giants are high on Jesús Rodríguez and a lot of the other prospects, but the return still feels light for premium reliever they didn't have to trade. That's based on industry consensus, not my own learned opinions, so take this with the level of seriousness it deserves. I'm not the one out there with a radar gun, scouting these prospects. The Giants were, and they felt it was an offer you can't refuse. When a guy from New York offers one of those, you take it.
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If you missed the link to Law's analysis up there, here it is again. It's not very encouraging. Although I will agree that the dream of Rodríguez is a very beautiful one. The idea of a catcher hopping from out behind the plate to field other positions when needed, something like a vintage Daulton Varsho, but for the infield. At the very least, he should be should be an outstanding complement to Patrick Bailey, even if the youngster will have to keep catching to hold most of his future value.
Posey said he'd talked to Justin Verlander in the offseason about what the Giants might do in a hypothetical deadline, but that he didn't bring it up in the past month. My guess is Verlander didn't want to be traded, and the Giants weren't keen on replacing his innings elsewhere. It's not like he was going to get much more than a PTBNL-type prospect back, even with the Giants paying some salary down. It's less a matter of will or desire to trade the rentals, and more of a matter of fit and respect. And if it's even worth the effort.
So this isn't a lamentation that the Giants didn't trade these players, per se. More like it's a shame that they couldn't or didn't. It leaves the team simultaneously stuck in this season and preparing for the next one. It's always possible they'll re-sign someone like Verlander or Wilmer Flores (or Rogers or Yastrzemski, for that matter), but until then, they're a part of the ghost crew on a ghost ship that's already pointed toward the Winter Meetings.
Ugly, ugly, ugly. The Rafael Devers trade felt like such a transformative moment for the franchise, an announcement that they were going to start doing the same hilarious, gluttonous moves that their NL West rivals were known for. When they made the deal, they were 11 games over .500 and a game out of first place. They were playin' with the big boys.
And then … they did whatever that is. The worst part about it is there really isn't anyone to blame. You know Devers will start hitting. Willy Adames was one of the only Giants helping out in July, so he's at least partially off the hook. It's not like you're going to blame Logan Webb for anything but enjoying baseball more. Plus, you have to applaud the front office and ownership for being aggressive. So who's the villain? Who's a scapegoat that Giants fans can yell at? Not sure if there is one, which is what has made this such an unusual collapse. There's no easy fixes, and there's no obvious organizational malpractice that gets you from the end of last season to today.
Doesn't mean it isn't ugly, though. Doesn't mean it isn't ugly. This one gets its own category.