The SF Giants could be staring at a very different starting rotation once the trade deadline passes, and the biggest shakeup may come from the top of the current group.
Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle are both headed for free agency after the season, which makes them obvious candidates to move if the Giants decide to deal from their rotation. If that happens, the second half could open with a much younger and less settled mix of arms.
Logan Webb still looks like the one constant. The Giants have said they are not planning to listen to offers for him, and if Buster Posey is to be taken at his word, Webb stays in place as the staff ace. He has had a rough couple of starts in a row, with some strange social media behavior mixed in, but he remains the clear front man unless San Francisco gets an offer it simply can’t ignore.
Behind him, Landen Roupp would likely slide into a bigger role. His season has been uneven, but his last start was encouraging, and the Giants will be hoping it’s a sign he can get back to the version of himself they saw last season before injuries got in the way.
Carson Whisenhunt has also made a strong case for more innings. Both of his starts this season have been good, including a solid outing in Atlanta last month and another strong one Thursday night against the Colorado Rockies. If Ray is moved, Whisenhunt could be the lone left-hander in the rotation, and he deserves a long look in the second half.
Adrian Houser is the trickier name in the mix. On paper, he might be better used as a trade chip, but manager Tony Vitello suggested Houser could be back in the rotation soon after Trevor McDonald turned in another rough start.
Houser would make sense as a pitcher another club might gamble on if he were a free agent after this season, but that’s not the case. The Giants signed him to a two-year deal, he has a 4.95 ERA, his strikeout numbers are low, and he is due $11 million next season.
That makes him harder to move, and it could also push the Giants to give him another shot to see whether he can still factor into next year’s plans.
Blade Tidwell is another arm who should get a chance. He already got a look earlier this season out of the bullpen and handled it well, posting a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings. He’s also put up a 4.40 ERA in Triple-A Sacramento, which is respectable in the pitcher-friendly Pacific Coast League, and that should be enough to earn him a rotation audition.
There are other possibilities, too. Carson Seymour, McDonald, and Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson could all enter the picture, especially if the Giants want to protect Roupp or others who may have innings limits.
And if the deadline brings back big league-ready pitching, that would change the equation again. However it shakes out, August is likely to bring a rotation that looks a lot different from the one San Francisco is using now.
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The bigger issue for the Giants is that this has not been confined to one side of the ball. Adames has also been shaky defensively, which puts added pressure on a lineup that needs him to be more than just a source of occasional damage. The encouraging part is that his bat speed and exit velocity have stayed close to his usual standards, so this does not look like a player who has simply lost his tools. For now, the question is whether the Giants can get him back on track quickly enough before the conversation around him shifts from slump to something much more structural. [Read more 🡒]