Deadline Time: What to do?

We're about 72 hours from the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline and although their isn't one particularly glaring area of concern on the Giants' roster right now, it hasn't kept Bobby Evans and Brian Sabean from scouring the market for potential upgrades.

The Giants have been on of the better teams in baseball since the All-Star break, and now with the return of Nori Aoki Monday night, they are finally working with a full deck. Surprisingly, the Giants have cruised to their 55-44 record without having their projected opening day roster in-tact together much at all. They were without Cain, Peavy and Pence for much of the first couple months, then Aoki and Affeldt hit the shelve, but the gang is back in full force and in plenty of time for the stretch run. Now, with all the key cogs healthy, you get an idea of how good this team can be, and it's no surprise they've gone 9-1 since break but that doesn't necessarily mean this team is flawless and is a sure fire bet to return to the postseason and break their odd-season curse. I said at the top of the post that their isn't particularly a single glaring area of need on the roster, but there's always room for improvement. I don't really think they need to do a thing with their everyday lineup and I'm the type of guy that is always looking for possible offensive upgrades. I just don't see where they can slide a big bat though if they were to find one, and with Matt Duffy, Joe Panic and Brandon Crawford's 2015 offensive surge, they don't really need one.

That said, outside of Gregor Blanco and their deep catching unit, the Giants don't have the strongest bench in the league. Angel Pagan has had a bit of a rough go of it offensively after a hot start, and he may need more time off down the stretch, but Blanco has shown the ability to step in when needed as he's having a career year offensively. I like Justin Maxwell and think he's a good presence on the team and in the clubhouse, but if they can find a more consistent bat for that fifth outfield spot, I'd be all for it. Also another utility infielder with some experience certainly wouldn't hurt. Ehire Adrianza has had a huge year in Sacramento but he's never been able to have any sort of success in his limited big league exposure.

So, that leaves the pitching staff as the most likely area to be added to, if the Giants indeed decide there is a move that can help the club now. Plenty of big name pitchers have been linked to the Giants in the last 48 hours, from James Shields to Cole Hamels and David Price. In fact, a fake Ken Rosenthal Twitter account actually stirred up a bit of a rise Tuesday morning by reporting that the Giants had sent Tyler Beede and 3 other prospects to Philly for Cole Hamels. Alas, it was not to be, but the Giants have fresh in their memory last postseason in which Madison Bumgarner was sort of a one-man army amongst the starters and they certainly don't want a repeat performance from the guys behind him this time around. While Cain and Peavy have each shown glimpses of their old selves, I don't think either is a great option as a number two behind MadBum in a playoff scenario. The Giants rotation, as is, is set up nicely for the regular season, and they very well could make it into the playoffs with their rotation as is, but it sure would be nice to have another ace-like option to alleviate some of the pressure off Bumgarner. Plus with roughly $50+ million coming off the books at the end of the year, they're in a position where they could take on a contract like Hamels' and not have it handicap them for the upcoming offseason.

I've said it before and I still think Hamels makes the most since out of all the big names linked to the Giants. Jeff Samardjiza is another very intriguing option but Hamels is such a smart pitcher and has had success for so long that I would trust him in that big "must win" game over Samardjiza and some of the other guys who just haven't performed and/or succeeded on the big stage. The only thing it will come down to is how many prospects the Phillies are going to want in return. I've been hearing that the Phills haven't been enamored with any of the Giants' offers yet but there's still some time for negotiation.

Anyway, moves have been happening left and right and it should be an interesting couple of days as we inch towards theFriday's 1 PM PT non-waiver trade deadline, and although I'm not expecting a big splash on the Giants part, I also wouldn't be surprised to see them grab another ace to pair with MadBum.

Roster Notes: The Giants were unable to hang onto Jean Machi, who was DFA'd after running out of options with San Francisco and was promply swooped up by the Boston Red Sox, were he'll join his former teammate and fellow countrymen, Pablo Sandoval. Machi was struggling for most of 2015 but shouldn't be forgotten as he was a key member of the 2014 Championship 'bully. He simply had been passed on the depth chart by George Kontos and Hunter Strickland and there wasn't room to carry him. With Machi now out of the mix, the only guy who seemingly could be replaced if the Giants can find an upgrade in the pen would be Yusmiero Petit (especially with Vogey now in the pen).