Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
There have never been more unknowns within a trade deadline, this year’s version adding COVID hurdles that complicate any transactions.
Yet, if the Giants are active, they have prepared accordingly in the days leading up to Monday’s decision day.
The Giants officially added two more pool members, first baseman Chris Shaw and reliever Melvin Adon reporting to Sacramento. Players can only be dealt if they are among the 60 in the pool, thus Shaw (a 2015 first-rounder who has yet to pan out) and Adon (who throws triple-digits heat) immediately become potential trade chips.
They have been cleared to work out at the alternate site, which has a few fewer members as of Friday. The Giants have not used their taxi squad often this year, preferring to keep their in-the-wings backups working out daily in Sacramento, yet the taxi squad they brought to a three-game set in Arizona was plentiful: righties Rico Garcia and Carlos Navas, newly acquired utilityman Daniel Robertson and catcher Chris Herrmann.
If the Giants trade from their active roster, they would have options nearby to replace them. Robertson, brought in from the Rays who can play all around the infield and outfield, especially may be of use.
Farhan Zaidi said last week the trade discussions have been on par with how they typically are leading up to the deadline, though he was not sure about the likelihood of deals getting done. Kevin Gausman, himself a trade chip, said Thursday he would need to view the health and safety protocols of a team that might acquire him, hinting at the unknowns during a campaign that is being played alongside a pandemic, the possibility of an opt-out always looming.
For now, the Giants are just adding players. Both Shaw and Adon are 40-man members who were not invited to camp 2.0, a situation that led to “tough” conversations for Gabe Kapler, especially with Shaw.
“I think one thing that’s been clear is that left-handed bats are valuable right now and certainly Chris has a history of hitting homers,” Kapler said of the big 26-year-old who has seen much minor league success, which has not translated yet. “I know how hard he’s been working on his swing recently — he’s actually been working hard during this whole downtime for him. And we all know about Melvin Adon’s arm strength. Just wanted to get a closer look at those two guys and get them to our alternate site and begin to evaluate.”