For the fans hoping the SF Giants would use the trade deadline as a hard reset, Larry Baer just made the organization’s stance crystal clear: that’s not how this group operates.
Speaking on KNBR, the team president and CEO pushed back on the idea that success has to come from tearing everything down and living through a long rebuild.
“You're not going to get me to say, in order to be successful you gotta pull the plug and have several bad years. You won't get me to say it because I don't believe it."
That answer fits the Giants’ history. Even in the rough stretches, the club has usually tried to stay in the fight rather than bottom out. That was true in the late 2000s after Barry Bonds retired, and again in the late 2010s when the team was stuck in the long shadow of the championship years.
But this season has pushed the conversation into a different place. The Giants are one of the worst teams in MLB, and they’re carrying several declining veterans on expensive contracts. For a lot of observers, that makes the case for a reset feel obvious.
Bryce Eldridge has become the clearest reason to think about the future. In a season that has gone off the rails, he’s been the one real bright spot pointing toward what comes next. The idea would be to build around him and aim for a more competitive window later this decade, or even in 2030 when some of the more promising minor league prospects could be ready to arrive.
Still, Baer and ownership don’t see a rebuild as necessary. Attendance has been up overall this season, even with a dip since the team’s Pride Night controversy, and that likely reinforces the front office’s belief that the club can keep moving forward without blowing it up.
So yes, trades are coming over the next week and a half. Robbie Ray and Luis Arraez are the obvious names to move.
But a full-scale teardown? That doesn’t sound like the Giants’ plan.
There is some logic to that approach. If the Giants had hit the reset button in the late 2010s, they never would have had the magical 2021 season fueled by resurgent years from Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, and Brandon Belt.
The difference now is that patience was easier to justify then. That core had already delivered championships to San Francisco. This group - Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, and Rafael Devers - has mostly brought mediocrity or disaster since arriving.
So the deadline will bring movement, but not a fire sale. Baer made sure of that.
In Other News...
Giants Affiliate Left Fans Shaken After Frightening Postgame Safety Scare
A postgame celebration at CarMax Park turned tense when a fireworks show at the Richmond Flying Squirrels game went wrong, sending sparks toward fans and forcing an abrupt response from the ballpark staff and the Richmond Fire Department. The Flying Squirrels, one of the Giants affiliates, are now working with Pyro Shows to sort out what happened and how to tighten safety procedures around future displays.
The malfunction is being reviewed from both sides, with officials trying to determine how a pyrotechnic product failed during the show and why some fireworks veered across the field instead of climbing into the sky. For a team that leans on family-friendly nights and postgame entertainment, the scare was a reminder that even the most routine ballpark extras can turn serious in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers May Have To Revisit A Deadline Price They Once Rejected
CJ Abrams has become one of the most intriguing names to watch as the deadline approaches, with rival evaluators seeing him as the most valuable player on the market while Washington keeps surprising and stays in the race. The Nationals are not actively shopping him, but they are expected to listen if a serious offer comes in before the August 3 deadline, and clubs such as the Yankees and Brewers have already checked in.
For teams like San Francisco, that creates a familiar kind of dilemma: the upside is obvious, but the fit is not simple. Abrams has produced at a high level this season, yet evaluators remain split on whether he can hold down shortstop, and the defensive questions could shape how far interested clubs are willing to go if Washington decides the interest is real enough to matter. [Read more 🡒]