San Francisco Giants Attempted to Acquire Wade Davis
By David Hill
The San Francisco Giants have struggled in the second half of the season, falling out of the National League West lead. As they battle for the Wild Card, a move they did not make could come back to haunt them.
To say that the San Francisco Giants have struggled during the second half would be an understatement. With a 19-34 record since the All Star Break, the Giants have been dead in the water. Having fallen behind the Dodges for the lead in the National League West, and clinging to a Wild Card slot, they run the risk of falling out of the playoffs altogether.
As such, it is interesting to find out about a trade that the Giants attempted to consummate. With their 2014 World Series foes, the Kansas City Royals, struggling this season, the Giants attempted to fortify their bullpen by inquiring about All Star closer Wade Davis. As the Royals had previously asked for Lucas Giolito for Davis, talks did not go anywhere.
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Instead, the Giants traded for Will Smith. While he has not allowed a run over his last nine outings, Smith has been walking a bit of a tightrope. In those seven innings, Smith has allowed two hits and six walks, striking out ten; however, five of those walks have come in his last three innings of work. Overall for the Giants, Smith has a 4.63 ERA and a 1.629 WHiP, hardly the numbers of a lights out reliever.
Yes, acquiring Davis would have led to a different set of problems. He was placed on the disabled list on July 31 with a flexor strain, which kept him out of action for all of August. Yet, with the Giants bullpen in a state of disarray, Davis would be a tremendous boost at this point in time. Santiago Casilla has lost the closer role, and Derek Law has been injured, furthering the Giants relief issues.
It would have cost a hefty price to get Davis, given the Giolito rumors that were circulating before the non-waiver trade deadline. However, with the Giants current slide, and the state of the bullpen, it may have been worth that cost to potentially fly another even year World Series banner.
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They say that the best trades are often the ones that you do not make. For the San Francisco Giants, not trading for Wade Davis could be a move they look back upon with regret.