While there are certainly flaws on the San Francisco Giants roster, the injuries have been the biggest issue nearly 70 games into the season.
There have been some positives on both sides of the ball. Logan Webb looks to continue being one of the best pitchers in baseball, Matt Chapman has his second-highest OPS+ since 2020, and young star Heliot Ramos has proven that he belongs in the big leagues.
But if half the starting rotation is dealing with an injury, how others are doing doesn’t matter much. The offense has been a big part of the game’s growth in recent seasons, as players are hitting 25-plus home runs like never before.
However, pitching is still going to be the reason teams find success. There aren’t many squads around baseball that have multiple injuries to their starters and find success.
The Giants have paid the price for that, currently 33-35 on the season and 4-6 in their last 10 games.
The front office will be challenged with making moves at the deadline, and the hope is that those moves, with the additions of current players getting healthy, will make San Francisco the team they were expected to be.
Blake Snell is on the IL again but should return as he’s set to throw off a mound this week. Robbie Ray, who many seem to be forgetting is on the roster, looked great in a recent rehab outing, touching 96 MPH with his fastball.
Bradford Doolittle of ESPN listed what all 30 MLB teams have to do before the trade deadline, writing that the Giants have to get healthy on the bump.
“They need to get Blake Snell back, and when he returns, they need it to turn out to be a good thing to have Blake Snell back, because the 9.51 ERA version of him wasn’t working.
“Robbie Ray is nearing a return to the majors as well. You can still envision a rotation of Webb, Snell, Ray, Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison leading a second-half charge.”
On paper, this rotation has a chance to be one of the best in baseball. If they can just get healthy from July on, they could be a team that finds success in the second half of the season.
Factoring in everything that’s gone wrong, San Francisco still has a spot in the Wild Card as it currently stands. They have to stay afloat until they get everyone back, something they’ve somewhat managed to do this year.
