Call to the pen
Fansided

San Francisco Giants Rumors: Five potential Bay-bound trade options

By Paul Ashley

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 26: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees celebrates the final out of the third inning after Mike Moustakas #8 of the Kansas City Royals struck out with the bases loaded at Yankee Stadium on July 26, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 26: Sonny Gray #55 of the New York Yankees celebrates the final out of the third inning after Mike Moustakas #8 of the Kansas City Royals struck out with the bases loaded at Yankee Stadium on July 26, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
Seattle Mariners pitcher James Paxton
SEATTLE – SEPTEMBER 24: James Paxton #65 of the Seattle Mariners pitches during the game against the Oakland Athletics at Safeco Field on September 24, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. The Athletics defeated the Mariners 7-3. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

Even though the Giants would benefit from contacting the Mariners about an outfield upgrade, they would also benefit from contacting the M’s about an upgrade to their starting rotation.

James Paxton followed up his breakout 2017 season with another solid performance last season.  In 2018, he went 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA, a 3.23 FIP, and a 1.098 WHIP through 160.1 innings pitched.

Although this was a slight drop off from his 2.98 ERA, 2.61 FIP, and 1.103 WHIP in 2017, he is a top of the rotation arm with three years of team control remaining.  As Madison Bumgarner is entering the final season of his contract, the Giants would benefit from obtaining a controllable All-Star caliber starting pitcher.

Last season, Paxton had 15 quality starts through his 28 games pitched.  During these starts, he compiled 7 double-digit strikeout performances and put together 208 strikeouts overall.  Paxton also threw two complete games and reached the 7th inning on 11 occasions.

Even though Cueto is owed $65.49 million over the next three seasons (with a $5 million buyout in 2022) and Samardzija is owed $39.6 million over the next two seasons, the Giants should still be able to handle the likely expensive arbitration years that remain ahead for Paxton.

A rotation featuring Madison Bumgarner, James Paxton, and Dereck Rodriguez could help the Giants return to the postseason next season.  As the Dodgers and Rockies will be very tough to compete with once again in 2019, the Giants will likely be very aggressive on the trade market for starting pitching.

If they are willing to part with top prospects, Paxton could possibly find his way to San Francisco during the offseason.  Depending on the prospects they would be willing to send to Seattle, they could potentially get the Mariners to take on part of a contract for Samardzija or Melancon as well.

Home/MLB Rumors