Giants trade idea has them adding 40-home run bat to already potent lineup

After a red-hot 8-1 start, the San Francisco Giants have fallen back down to earth in the last few weeks. 

Series losses to the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Angels have dropped them to third place in the stacked National League West with a 15-8 record. While that record is still good for the fourth-best mark in Major League Baseball, there are some reasons for concern. Starters Jordan Hicks and Justin Verlander each have ERAs over five, and Robbie Ray has walked 15 batters in his first 19.1 innings. The offense, meanwhile, ranks just 22nd in batting average despite ranking fifth in Major League Baseball in runs scored and has gotten almost no production from Lamonte Wade Jr. (.091 batting average) and Willy Adames (.554 OPS). 

With the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks looking like juggernauts, the Giants can hardly afford to keep playing .500 baseball. While the starting rotation looks like a clear spot for upgrade, it’s hard to see the Giants pulling the plug on two former Cy Young award winners in Ray and Verlander or Hicks, who signed a four-year, $44 million before the 2024 season. Therefore, it seems more likely that the Giants will look to bolster the lineup, and ESPN’s David Schoenfield believes they could find a surprising fit in Atlanta Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna. 

“Marcell Ozuna would look nice in this lineup,” Schoenfield declared in his early trade deadline preview article. 

After looking like he may be on his way out of the league following dismal 2021 and 2022 seasons, Ozuna has rebounded in a big way, blasting a combined 79 home runs over the past two seasons. He has once again been mashing to the tune of 1.010 OPS on the strength of four home runs, but the rest of his teammates have stumbled to an 8-13 record. Given that they have made seven straight postseasons, the Braves are hardly finished, but given the strength of the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets and the injury uncertainty surrounding stars Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna, Jr, it is a distinct possibility that the Braves are sellers at the deadline. In that scenario, Ozuna’s big bat and expiring contract could be an attractive option to a team like the Giants. 

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