MLB: Ranking the top storylines of the first half

San Francisco Giants

After their bullpen faltered in the NLDS just one year ago, they went out and signed one of the best relievers on the market in Mark Melancon, filling their only hole. Well, turns out they had a few more holes that needed some duct tape as they sit with a 34-56 record, 27 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West.

Poor seasons from anyone not named Buster Posey has definitely contributed to the surprising downturn in San Francisco, but with the club’s management handing out big dollar long-term contracts to a number of their core players prior to this season, plus their expenditures on the free agent market in recent seasons, the Giants could be facing a tough uphill battle to reach contention again in the near future with a limited farm system, pesky opt-out clauses and already being pressed against the luxury tax.

The one factor that they have working in their favor is that seemingly everyone is slumping this season, which means that a lot hasn’t gone right. That could all change pretty quickly. Brandon Belt still gets on base and Joe Panik has been just a bit below average at the dish, but Brandon Crawford‘s wRC+ of 65 is the worst that he’s had at any stop in his pro career in which he’s played more than a handful of games. If they get some production out of anyone in the outfield, they could start scoring runs again too!

While Madison Bumgarner has been out for the majority of the season, his absence isn’t the cause for their slacking. His replacement, Ty Blach, has been more than serviceable most outings, but the rest of their starting rotation hasn’t been the advantage they were thought to be. Matt Moore has the worst ERA among qualified pitchers at 6.04 and even though he’s actually been performing well with a 3.58 FIP, Jeff Samardzija leads the National League in losses with ten. Hey, it’s still one less than the reigning AL Cy Young champ.

The Giants being in contention with the Phillies for the worst team in baseball is a thrilling storyline on its own, but how they approach the MLB trade deadline could give them staying power for the next couple of weeks. Will they be able to get value for Johnny Cueto or potentially even Melancon? Will they start trading players not named Bumgarner, Posey or Crawford? This could get very interesting.