San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants: Should They Be Sellers at the Trade Deadline?

This article was originally published on Golden Gate Sports.

Jun 17, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Barry Zito (75) hands the ball to manager Bruce Bochy (15) after being taken against the San Diego Padres during the sixth inning at AT

The San Francisco Giants are in a dangerous slump.

In the month of June, they had a 10-16 record. Since June 15th, the Giants have a 5-18 record. As of today, they are a season-high nine games below .500 with a record of 40-49.

They have been plagued by injuries, inconsistent pitching and poor situational hitting. All of these issues have caused fans to question if the Giants need to be active at the trade deadline.

If the Giants want to be buyers at the trade deadline, they could look to acquire a starting pitcher, a relief pitcher, and a veteran outfielder. However, the Giants haven’t been playing well enough to be able to score a deal (other teams could be wary of the Giants’ struggles or raise the price due to San Francisco’s desperation). In addition to that, the Giants are wary about giving up top prospects and getting just a rental player or a player who won’t make much impact on the team in return.

“We have to ride it out. The team has to play better for us to move forward,” Brian Sabean said. “If we don’t start playing better — the team at hand, especially the lineup itself — there’s not enough help in the world that’s going to turn us around from this.

The Giants also have a lot of areas to be addressed, and they can’t all be fixed via trade.

“You get a little leaky, and you can fill one hole, but if it gets to be too many, you’re asking too much there,” Bruce Bochy said. “It’s gonna come back to these guys getting back to the players they are and executing.”

Hank Schulman, the Giants beat writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, suggests that if the Giants have a bad homestand, they should concede the season now and be sellers, in order to at least acquire prospects for the future. If the Giants do well on this homestand, then he believes that the Giants should become buyers and make a serious run to win the NL West.

He also suggests that if the Giants decide to be sellers, they should try to trade Javier Lopez, Hunter Pence or Tim Lincecum, because they will all be free agents after this season. Also, the Giants could possibly get some quality prospects in return, especially from Lopez and Pence.

So, should the Giants be sellers at the trade deadline? Should they essentially try to acquire talent for the future?

The simple answer is no. First of all, there’s still a lot of baseball to be played. The Giants have 73 games left, and a lot of things can change in 73 games. The All-Star break is in a week, and it might be just the physical and mental break the Giants need.

Second, the Giants have shown that they like being underestimated and and are able to come back from adversity. In 2010, the Giants were trailing the San Diego Padres in the NL West for much of the season, and they didn’t clinch the NL West title until the very last day of the season. In 2012, the Giants were on the brink of elimination in two straight series, and they ultimately won the World Series.

The Giants have been in tough situations before, and they’ve shown time and time again that they can always come back. The Giants have won two World Series titles in three years for a reason.

“This is a club that’s always been resilient,” Bochy said. “They’ve had the ability to bounce back from tough losses, streaks. They’ve been down before. They find a way to get it done. I don’t think that they’re doubting themselves that it will happen.”

Oct 28, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Members of the San Francisco Giants celebrate on the field after game four of the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The Giants won 4-3 to sweep the series. Mandatory Credit: H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports

Third, the Giants are a loyal organization. They’re going to stick by their players, win or lose. This is essentially, minus a few injured players, the same team that won the World Series last season. The Giants organization believes in this group of guys.

“These are our guys, though,” Bochy said. “These guys have done a lot of good things here. You know [the slump] feels like it’s been forever, but it’s been maybe three weeks. It’s getting long, but still, they are our guys and we’re going to stay behind them.”

Lastly, the team still believes in each other, it’s still as confident as ever, and it’s still working hard. The players believe as much today as they did at the beginning of the season that they can win another World Series this year. That seems like a tough task now, but it can still be done.

“They’re fighting. I know when you go through something like this and you don’t score a lot of runs, you look flat,” Bochy said. “But they’re doing the work, they’re doing all we’re asking. It’s all we can do, just keep coming out here every day and keep believing that you’re going to come out of this thing.”

If the right deal presents itself, Sabean has said that he’s not afraid to make a deal. He’s not going to make a trade just to make a trade, though. He has had success in the past bringing in players at the trade deadline that make a difference in the second half of the season.

In 2010, Sabean signed Pat Burrell to a minor league deal, acquired Cody Ross off of waivers and traded for Lopez and Ramon Ramirez. In 2012, Sabean traded for Pence and Marco Scutaro.

Will he decide to sell instead of buy this season, though?

“You know, who knows,” Sabean said about the Giants possibly selling at the trade deadline. “I think you’re going to have an open mind going forward to whatever’s in best interests of the organization, the present and future.”

The Giants should not be sellers at the trade deadline. Even though they’re in a potentially disastrous downward spiral right now, they shouldn’t sell some of their most valuable assets, in order to acquire talent for the future.

The season is far from over. A comeback at this point might be tough, but the Giants are reigning World Champions for a reason.

San Francisco Giants: 3 Players They Should Pursue at the Trade Deadline

This article was originally published on Golden Gate Sports.

June 2, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Nick Noonan (left) catcher Buster Posey (center) and relief pitcher Sergio Romo (right) celebrate with teammates after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. San Francisco defeated St. Louis 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Out of 15 National League teams, the San Francisco Giants currently rank 13th with a 4.47 ERA for their starters. This is hard to believe given the fact that the Giants have won two World Series titles in the past three seasons behind dominant starting pitching.

Matt Cain struggled in the beginning of the season, Tim Lincecum has been inconsistent, and Barry Zito has a 10.41 ERA on the road. Because of their struggles, many analysts and fans have suggested that the Giants acquire a starting pitcher.

By adding another starting pitcher, the Giants could move Chad Gaudin back into his role as a reliever, which would strengthen the struggling bullpen. In addition, when Ryan Vogelsong comes back from injury, the Giants could also consider moving Lincecum to the bullpen. According to a club source, the Giants would convert Lincecum into a late-inning reliever “in a heartbeat,” and Lincecum said he is open to that change as well.

On the other hand, Bruce Bochy has said the Giants need the most help in the bullpen. If the Giants acquire a relief pitcher, they could continue to use Gaudin as a starter until Vogelsong comes back, and then when Vogelsong is healthy again, the Giants could move Gaudin back into his long reliever role.

The Giants also need a veteran outfielder, with Angel Pagan expected to be out until September, at the earliest. Gregor Blanco, Andres Torres, and Juan Perez are currently filling the void at center field and left field, but they’re collectively not providing enough offense to make up for Pagan’s energy and production in the leadoff spot.

Here are three players that the Giants could acquire at the trade deadline that would fill these needs:

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San Francisco Giants: Why Fatigue Has Led to Their Recent Struggles

This article was originally published on Golden Gate Sports.

The San Francisco Giants are tired. They aren’t just physically tired; they’re also mentally tired. After playing a total of 178 games last season, the Giants had a shortened offseason and less time to recover, both mentally and physically, before this season. The Giants currently have a 38-40 record, third in the NL West, and they have lost four games in a row.

May 16, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain (18) reacts after giving up a home run during the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

In their last two games, the Giants have been outscored 7-0 in the 6th inning. Is this onslaught just bad luck? A coincidence? Actually, this stat explains a lot about the Giants’ recent struggles.

The sixth inning, in particular, has brought trouble to the Giants recently for several reasons. First of all, their pitching has taken a downturn starting around the sixth inning. The Giants’ pitching, in general, has been up and down all season.

At the beginning of the season, the starting pitching was horrendous. Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong, usually steady forces in the rotation, were horrible and didn’t show consistent command of their pitches. Because of this, the bullpen had to step up and pitch more than usual.

Recently, the starting pitching has picked up. In the month of June, Tim Lincecum has looked better and has posted a 3.60 ERA. Cain has improved steadily since his horrendous month of April when he had a 6.49 ERA. In the month of May, Cain had a 3.48 ERA and in June, Cain has a 3.58 ERA. Even though the starting pitching has picked up, the Giants have not yet thrown a complete game, which explains why the bullpen has looked tired.

The bullpen’s effectiveness has started to decline because of overuse in the beginning of the season. Several pitchers, such as George Kontos, have struggled with command, perhaps because of exhaustion.

The second reason why the sixth inning has been problematic is that the starting pitchers aren’t consistently making the right adjustments. As the sixth inning approaches, pitchers are generally set to face the opposing lineup the third time around. Often, it seems like the Giants’ starting pitcher will either pitch to the opposing batter the same way they have been all game, which ends up backfiring, or, if adjustments are made, the opposing batter anticipates it and knows how to beat that move.

By this time, the opposing batters have made their own adjustments as to how to approach their next at-bat, given what the pitcher has done in their previous at-bats. Therefore, the batter knows exactly how the pitcher is going to pitch to him, which can lead to base hits and runs.

The third reason these runs in the sixth inning could be occurring is simple exhaustion from high pitch counts. The Giants’ starters rank first in the NL for most pitches per plate appearance with 3.9 pitches. Many Giants’ starters drive the pitch count up high in each at-bat, which forces them to become more tired, earlier in the game. When pitchers become tired over the course of a game, they start to lose command of their pitches, and this has started happening to the Giants starters around the dreadful sixth inning.

Jun 17, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Barry Zito (75) hands the ball to manager Bruce Bochy (15) after being taken against the San Diego Padres during the sixth inning at AT

Because of these reasons, Bruce Bochy has two options when managing a tough situation like this. He can leave the starter in the game longer, but that can backfire because it’s hard for a pitcher to re-gain command once he’s already lost it. It does seem like Bochy trusts his starters too much sometimes. He can get into the habit of leaving a pitcher in one batter too many, and it can end up costing the Giants a run or two.

The other option Bochy has is to pull the starter at the first sign of exhaustion and go to the bullpen. However, since the bullpen has been used so much this season, he has been hesitant to do that, which forces him to leave his starter in longer. This whole process becomes a vicious cycle, and the Giants are stuck in one right now.

In addition to the struggles the Giants have had with their pitching, they have also seemed lost at the plate recently. The Giants have several players on their roster who are known as “free swingers.” These players don’t generally take too many pitches, and, they have been swinging at pitches early in the pitch count. In addition, many of these pitches are out of the strike zone or just generally unhittable.

The Giants aren’t showing enough patience at the plate, so they miss the opportunity of being rewarded with mistake pitches or pitches that are more hittable. It just seems as if the long 2012 season is starting to catch up with them in terms of mental mistakes, fatigue, and injuries.

The Giants are in quite a difficult situation. They’re stuck in a vicious cycle where Bochy can’t trust his relief pitchers, and the starters are slowly falling apart. The mental and physical exhaustion has started to spread into the offense as well.

The All-Star break couldn’t come soon enough for the Giants. They could use a break from the long road trips and the mental grind of the game. The Giants will recover though; it’s just a matter of time.

San Francisco Giants: How Much Will They Miss Angel Pagan?

This article was originally published on Golden Gate Sports.

Angel Pagan is a sparkplug.

He provides so much energy for the San Francisco Giants as their center fielder and leadoff hitter, and he was a significant contributor to their World Series win last season. However, Pagan’s current situation could significantly impact the Giants for the rest of the season.

May 15, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; San Francisco Giants center fielder Angel Pagan (16) singles in the fifth inning as Toronto Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia (9) watches at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Pagan initially strained his left hamstring on May 25th when he scored an incredible inside-the-park home run to walk-off against the Colorado Rockies.

Pagan recently aggravated his strained left hamstring while on a rehab assignment with the San Jose Giants. An MRI done on Saturday revealed that Pagan actually has a small tear in his left hamstring.

Because of this, Pagan has elected to have surgery to repair the torn hamstring, and he will be sidelined for 12 weeks.

This could significantly impact the Giants’ chances of winning the NL West. The Giants have already experienced a multitude of injuries to other key players on their roster, such as Marco Scutaro, Ryan Vogelsong, Santiago Casilla, and Pablo Sandoval.

Scutaro is playing through his injury and both Casilla and Sandoval are expected back soon, but given Pagan’s energy and enthusiasm, the Giants will surely miss his presence on and off the field.

In 46 games this season, Pagan is batting .262 with three home runs and 24 RBI. He also has walked 15 times.

Pagan truly is their sparkplug on offense. He’s an effective leadoff hitter given his ability to steal bases, run the bases aggressively and efficiently, and get on base by getting a hit or taking a walk. Pagan is also able to stretch out a hit and gain an extra base because of his speed, since he can score from second on a single and score from first on a double.

In addition, Pagan scored 95 runs last year for the Giants and he led MLB with 15 triples, so he is clearly the best option as the leadoff hitter for the Giants.

However, in his absence, Gregor Blanco has really stepped up and shown that he can more than adequately fill in for Pagan in the leadoff spot. First of all, Blanco is versatile. He can play all three outfield spots extremely well.

Second, Blanco has been on a tear recently on offense. In the month of June, Blanco is hitting .373 with one home run and 10 RBI’s in 75 at-bats. He also has a .413 OBP and a .533 slugging percentage. Overall, Blanco is hitting .302 with one home run, 26 RBI, and has a .354 OBP and a .401 slugging percentage.

“He can contribute in any way, it’s really good to see,” Pagan said about Blanco. “That’s how good teams go through bad weather, guys like Gregor getting it done and stepping up.”

Andres Torres has been a little streaky on offense, but for the season, he’s hitting .269 with two home runs and 16 RBI’s. Also, Juan Perez got off to an amazing start with the Giants, but he’s cooled off a little since his major league debut. He’s still hitting a respectable .300 though in 30 at-bats though.

The Giants will definitely miss Pagan on offense and his effectiveness in the leadoff spot, but given Blanco’s recent production, the Giants must feel a little more comfortable.

However, twelve weeks without Pagan is a long time, so everyone on the Giants will have to step up, not just Blanco. Since Pagan will be gone until September, Blanco, as well as Torres and Perez, will have to maintain consistency throughout the rest of the season.

Apr 27, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants center fielder Angel Pagan (16) reacts after scoring during the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Pagan’s absence won’t be missed as much on the defensive end. Defensively, he is arguably the fourth-best center fielder on the Giants behind Blanco, Perez, and Torres. These three players have been able to display their defensive prowess while Pagan has been out, so the Giants shouldn’t be concerned missing Pagan’s defense.

Pagan is a leader in the clubhouse because of his passion and enthusiasm for the game. He’s an extremely hard worker who sets a good example for the younger players on how to work hard and play the game the right way. His energy gets the team excited and pumped up for each game, so the Giants will definitely miss him for that.

Unfortunately, Pagan has been labeled as injury-prone throughout his career. He has only played more than 125 games in a season twice in his seven-year career.

The Giants were aware of this situation though when they signed him to a 4-year, $40 million contract in the the offseason. This could be considered a risky move given his history of injuries, but Pagan has been a solid force for the Giants since he signed here.

On the defensive end, the Giants won’t miss him as much because they have a trio of center fielders who are extremely talented defensively.

Offensively, it remains to be seen how much Pagan’s absence will affect the Giants, because it depends on Blanco keeping up his impressive hitting.

The Giants will miss Pagan most in terms of the energy he provides for this team. His “never give up” attitude and his determination to win are hard to replace.

San Francisco Giants: Why Buster Posey is Thriving as the No. 3 Hitter

This article was originally published on Golden Gate Sports.

Buster Posey is an incredibly skilled hitter. No matter what spot he is in the lineup, he’s going to find a way to produce. After hitting in the cleanup spot for the majority of his career, Posey was moved into the third spot in the batting order. Bruce Bochy said this is a permanent change, because he wanted to tweak the traditional order to see if it would spark the offense. Because of this move, Posey has thrived.

Jun. 9, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey bats in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

When Posey hits third in the lineup this season, he has hit .435 with one home run, eight doubles, 15 RBI’s, a .478 OBP, and a .645 slugging percentage in 62 at-bats. In the cleanup spot, Posey has hit .267 with seven home runs, 12 doubles, 26 RBI’s, a .359 OBP, and a .455 slugging percentage in 176 at-bats this season.

The number three hitter is traditionally the best all-around hitter on the team. They’re not generally that fast, but they hit for a high batting average and find ways to get on base. They usually have high on-base percentages and slugging percentages, which is exactly what Posey has exhibited recently.

Some other number three hitters around the league are Albert Pujols, Joey Votto, Ryan Braun, and Miguel Cabrera. All of these players have power, but they are selective with their power. They don’t necessarily try to hit a home run every time, in order to maintain a high batting average. They all have great OPS percentages, on-base percentage plus slugging percentage.

The cleanup hitter, or the fourth hitter, is also one of the best hitters on the team, but this player generally hits for more power than the third hitter does. This hitter also generally takes a lot of walks.

Some examples of cleanup hitters around the league are Prince Fielder, Troy Tulowitzki, Brandon Phillips, and Evan Longoria. These players all have a lot of power and high slugging percentages. Posey definitely has some power, but it’s a little hard to judge how much power he could really have due to the difficulty of hitting home runs at AT&T Park.

The third and fourth hitter have very similar roles, but Posey has always seemed to be more of a number three hitter. Posey won the batting title last season after hitting .336, so he clearly can hit for average, and he finished with an admirable .905 OPS.

Posey is a versatile hitter who can hit to either side of the field, has power, can draw a walk, and doesn’t chase outside the strike zone much. He also knows how to work pitch counts, hit with two strikes, and adjust his swing in order to get a hit. Posey is the best all-around hitter on the Giants, so it gives the Giants an early advantage when he’s hitting third and comes up to hit in the first inning no matter what. Given his immense amount of skills on offense, Posey naturally fits into the third spot in the batting order.

June 18, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28, right) hits a RBI-single to score left fielder Gregor Blanco (7, not pictured) in front of San Diego Padres catcher Nick Hundley (4, left) during the first inning at AT

Another reason why he thrives in the number three spot is because the hitters around him have skillsets that are more suited to the cleanup spot or the fifth spot.

“He’s so good at getting on base, and we’ve been in a little rut,” Bochy said about Buster Posey. “We’ll hope something like this will spark them… Really, you could take those three and pull them out of a hat and be comfortable.”

Hunter Pence has tremendous power, which would make him the perfect cleanup hitter, but he also has a knack for driving in runs, whether that means getting a clean single, a home run, or just a groundout that scores a run. Pence could easily fit into the fourth or fifth spot in the lineup, given these characteristics.

Pablo Sandoval also has incredible power and has proven that he can hit for a high batting average too, when he’s healthy. This is why Bochy has normally put Sandoval in the third spot, but he could arguably hit in the third, fourth, or fifth spot.

Sandoval is currently out with a foot injury, so, in his absence, Bochy has been hitting Posey third and Pence fourth. When Sandoval comes back, it’s not clear how Bochy will order those three players in the lineup, but with Pence and Sandoval hitting behind him, Posey will for sure keep thriving in the third spot.

With two other stellar hitters around him that have power and can hit for average, it gives Bochy more flexibility in putting Posey in the third spot, his most natural spot in the lineup. It doesn’t really matter which spot Sandoval and Pence hit in, because Posey will most likely find a way to get on base for them. Posey is such a valuable hitter for the Giants, and he will continue to thrive in the number three spot in the lineup.

Breaking Down Tim Lincecum’s Future with the San Francisco Giants

This article was originally published on Golden Gate Sports.

After one of the worst seasons of his career, statistically, in 2012, Tim Lincecum is once again struggling this season to pitch as dominantly as he used to. Lincecum finished 2012 with a 5.18 ERA. As a reliever during the postseason in 2012, he had a 2.55 ERA though. Many fans hoped that his dominance as a relief pitcher during the postseason might translate into a successful 2013 season. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case as Lincecum has been inconsistent this season and currently has a 4.75 ERA. Lincecum will be a free agent at the end of this season and his inconsistent pitching the past couple seasons has led to several questions about if he has a future with the San Francisco Giants.

May 12, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum (55) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the fourth inning at AT

The Giants must be cautious about re-signing Lincecum in the offseason due to his production the past couple seasons. In addition, they had offered him a long-term deal, reportedly five years, $100 million, after the 2011 season, but Lincecum turned it down. Given Lincecum’s reluctance to sign with the Giants long-term, the Giants might be wary to commit to him in the future.

“…it’s hard for me personally to just commit years of my life ahead of time,” Lincecum said. “What I’m focusing on is what I want to do now. I just don’t want to get ahead of myself.”

Even though he didn’t commit to the Giants after the 2011 season, Lincecum said that doesn’t mean he won’t re-sign with the Giants, despite some rumors that he’d like to go to Seattle and play for the Mariners after this season.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t want to be a Giant any less or anything like that,” Lincecum said about turning down the contract extension. “I just like to see where I am at the end of the year.”

It’s likely that Lincecum will want to sign a long-term deal though, which doesn’t seem like a viable option for the Giants given the uncertainty of Lincecum’s production in the future. The Giants wouldn’t be able to commit to a large, long-term deal anyway given that they have committed a significant amount of money to Matt Cain and Buster Posey. The Giants have made it clear that Cain and Posey are the new faces of the franchise, so Lincecum might feel like the odd man out in this situation.

There’s also the possibility that Lincecum could be traded mid-season. If the Giants decided to try to trade Lincecum, some starting pitchers that they might be able to acquire via trade are Scott Feldman of the Cubs, Matt Garza of the Cubs, Shaun Marcum of the Mets, or Bud Norris of the Astros. There was also speculation that the Giants could try to trade for a starting pitcher like Cliff Lee, but that would certainly be a long shot for the Giants.

In order to acquire one of these starting pitchers though, the Giants would most likely have to trade some intriguing pitching prospects in A or AA like Chris Stratton, Clayton Blackburn, or Kyle Crick. They could potentially package some non-pitching prospects into a trade too like second baseman Joe Panik, outfielder Gary Brown, catcher Johnny Monell, second baseman Ryan Cavan, or utility man Juan Perez. In addition, because of Lincecum’s poor season so far, it’s not clear if the Giants could get much in return. Lincecum is a two-time Cy Young award winner though, so there would be some interest. After his spectacular performances in the 2012 postseason, teams interested in acquiring him might try to convert him to a relief pitcher as well.

It certainly makes sense why Lincecum was successful as a reliever. Before he was drafted, many scouts thought he would be ultimately become a reliever, because his size and unorthodox delivery might lead him to fatigue more quickly than other starting pitchers. They didn’t think he could consistently pitch 200-plus innings in a MLB season. These factors could be the main reasons why Lincecum has struggled these past two seasons. His potential fatigue could explain the lower velocity on his fastball, which could also lead to worse command. Lincecum has been stuck in somewhat of a vicious cycle, so he might need to transition into a reliever in order to re-sign with the Giants or just stay relevant in MLB.

May 18, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum (55) reacts after committing an error during the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

“If my career takes that turn [pitching out of the bullpen] I’m definitely open to changes, especially if it’s beneficial to the team I’m playing for,” Lincecum said. It’s interesting that Lincecum chose to use the phrase “the team I’m playing for” and not specifically saying the Giants.

According to a club source, the Giants would convert Lincecum into a late-inning reliever “in a heartbeat,” but now with Vogelsong out a couple months with his right pinky injury, the Giants can’t afford to do that just yet. The Giants organization would also feel more comfortable making that transition if they had more starting pitching depth in Fresno, their AAA affiliate.

If the Giants wanted to use Lincecum as a reliever in the future (assuming Vogelsong is also healthy and back in the starting rotation), they will have to consider what options they have for a fifth starter if they can’t trade for one. One realistic option for the Giants is Mike Kickham, who Giants fans saw make his major league debut against the A’s on May 28th. Despite his rough outing, Kickham definitely showed some promise.

“He’ll be back up here at some point,” Bruce Bochy said. “I thought the kid showed great stuff.”

Chad Gaudin had a fantastic first start for the Giants, and he gave up only two runs in six innings. Gaudin was efficient in his innings and finished with just 79 pitches, and he consistently hit 94 MPH. Despite his fantastic performance, it’s not clear if he’d be able to stay in the starting rotation and maintain a high load of innings over the course of a season.

Yusmeiro Petit is an option, but he has struggled mightily this season in Fresno. He has a 6.69 ERA in seven starts. Eric Surkamp, another candidate, had Tommy John surgery last summer and should be close to fully healthy around the end of July. The Giants will see if the young left-hander can fully recover from such a serious surgery.

Lincecum had one of his best outings of the season last night against the Blue Jays. He pitched seven innings, gave up three hits, had one earned run, walked one, and struck out six. Despite this dominant performance, it still remains unclear what his future will be with the Giants. He could potentially be traded midseason for another starting pitcher, but it’d be difficult to pull off and doesn’t seem likely. When Lincecum becomes a free agent at the end of this season, it’s not clear if the Giants will be able to or will want to re-sign him. They could re-sign him to pitch as a reliever, but they don’t know if he’s ready to make that change. He could also just sign with another team and continue to start. The future is unclear, but Giants fans definitely want to see Lincecum re-sign with the Giants in the offseason.