PHOENIX - Heliot Ramos keeps giving the Giants something to think about, and Wednesday night in Chase Field he gave them a win, too.
In a 6-4 victory over the Diamondbacks, Ramos opened the fifth inning with a 110.7 mph home run that carried into the left-field seats near the 413-foot marker. Two batters later, rookie Victor Bericoto answered with a two-run blast to nearly the same spot, turning a quiet night into the kind of inning that can reshape how a front office sees its roster.
That matters now because the Giants are heading toward the Aug. 3 trade deadline with plenty of decisions to make. Luis Arraez, Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle are all impending free agents who figure to draw attention.
Rafael Devers and Willy Adames, despite their hefty price tags and uneven production, are far less likely to be moved. But the middle ground is where things get interesting, especially after last year’s deadline, when president of baseball operations Buster Posey traded Tyler Rogers and Mike Yastrzemski and also pulled a prospect package from the Yankees for Camilo Doval, who still had more than two years of club control.
Ramos fits that conversation better than most.
The Giants absolutely do not need to trade him, but his name belongs in the same class of player worth at least considering if another club comes with a real offer. He’s under control even longer than Doval was, and he won’t reach free agency until after 2029.
He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season. For a right-handed hitting outfielder with real power, that kind of control carries weight around the league.
And there should be interest. Teams like the Phillies and Mariners need outfield help, and Ramos has a profile that can play in that market.
He’s especially dangerous against left-handed pitching, and his 2024 All-Star season put him in rare company statistically - Aaron Judge was the only other player in that neighborhood. After missing more than a month with a torn quadriceps, he came back and hit the ground running.
Wednesday’s game showed both sides of the equation. Ramos nearly left the yard again in the sixth, but instead settled for an RBI triple that bounced off the top of the fence.
He kept driving the offense while the Giants did just enough to survive another messy stretch late. The win was their first in nine tries against Arizona this season, and it spared them from starting 0-9 against one opponent for the first time in franchise history.
“We were good enough on offense. … I think it’s more about us. We’ve had some games against these guys where it was uninspiring baseball, or we made too many mistakes, and they had confidence against us because of that.”
Trevor McDonald helped set the tone on the mound, leaning on his sinker to allow just one hit across six shutout innings. Bericoto made his own case in left field, where he turned in a diving catch behind McDonald and later came close to another on Ketel Marte’s double during Arizona’s four-run eighth. Vitello said, “What he’s doing is, he’s kind of taking the pen out of the manager’s hands, so to speak.”
That’s part of what makes this a real conversation. Bericoto has impressed over 19 major league games, and his defense appears to be ahead of Ramos’. But Ramos brings an All-Star resume and the kind of bat the Giants clearly need, especially with the designated hitter spot already tied up through 2033 by Devers and Bryce Eldridge.
There’s also the larger roster picture. The Giants have already tilted too far away from their old pitching-and-defense identity while trying to add lineup continuity and power.
Rebuilding that balance will take work. Their minor league system is heavy on position players, and next season’s rotation currently looks like Logan Webb and who else?
That reality makes every possible trade more complicated, not less. The Giants need run prevention help, and they need to listen if a deal can bring it back. Ramos has value around the industry, and he’d have real appeal to teams looking for a bat from the right side.
Still, he also looks like the kind of player this regime wants to keep.
“However he handled that time off was phenomenal,” Vitello said of Ramos’ month on the IL. “And then, as he’s gotten back into it, he’s been full steam ahead. You’re not going to meet a more ambitious guy.”
Said Ramos: “I know what kind of player I am and what I can give.”
In Other News...
Luis Arraez Is Already Being Tied To One Trade Landing Spot
Luis Arraez has only been a Giant for a short stretch, but his name is already surfacing as one to watch when the trade deadline chatter heats up. San Francisco is widely expected to be in seller mode, and players on expiring contracts tend to draw attention quickly, especially someone like Arraez, whose game has remained as steady as ever while also showing improvement with the glove.
ESPNs David Schoenfield floated the Texas Rangers as a logical place to watch, which says plenty about where the market could go if the Giants decide to move him. Arraez has been productive enough to fit a contenders lineup, and Texas has been searching for stability at second base, so the fit makes sense on paper even if nothing is close to finalized. [Read more 🡒]
Heliot Ramos Just Forced A Giants Outfield Conversation Again
Heliot Ramos is back in the Giants lineup after a six-week absence with a right quad strain, and the early signs have been encouraging. Following a seven-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento, he returned to the big club and wasted little time making an impact, adding power and run production in his first few games back.
His return has also forced another look at the outfield mix, with the Giants working Ramos into right field while Jung Hoo Lee remains in center. For a club trying to settle on the best alignment, Ramos bat makes the conversation harder to ignore, and the next few games should tell a lot about how permanent this arrangement might become. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Fans May Be Stuck With Devers Longer Than Expected
When the Giants brought in Rafael Devers from the Red Sox last year, they took on far more than just a middle-of-the-order bat. They also inherited a contract that runs through 2033, which means this is the kind of move that can shape the roster long after the headlines fade. Devers has still given San Francisco production this season, hitting .242 with 15 home runs and 44 RBIs, but the fit has already become a conversation piece around the league.
That matters because the Giants may not be done with the Devers discussion yet. Even with the deadline approaching, any attempt to move him would have to navigate the reality of a deal that can look unwieldy to other clubs, especially for a player who will be in his mid-30s by the end of it. For a team trying to balance present value with future flexibility, Devers remains both an asset and a complication, and it is not hard to see why the market could be more complicated than the name alone suggests. [Read more 🡒]