Buzz By The Bay

When the Giants began to slump around mid-June, the talking heads were clamoring for a mid-season acquisition to jump-start the offense. But then the team started winning. Not just winning — scoring too. Since July 5, the Giants are 11-3, but more notably, nine of those wins came with five or more runs of support. Amidst the hot streak, the fan base appears to have shifted from "get help now" toward the stand-pat camp.

After all, this is a different team than we were watching only a few weeks ago. Pablo Sandoval is finally starting to heat up. Players like Travis Ishikawa and Nate Schierholtz are beginning to contribute. Most notably, many fans believe the additions of Buster Posey — who has become almost as popular as Inception-related Facebook statuses — and Madison Bumgarner as regular contributors have negated the need for a deal, and could lead this team to its first postseason berth since 2003.

The truth of the matter, however, is that the Giants have been feasting on struggling teams. Also, the pitching has been exceptional, even for our standards. As much as I’m loving the way things are going, I’m not so naïve as to think the Giants won’t be losing one-run games again sometime next week. The trade deadline is in ten days, and by the time we come back down to earth again, it could be too late. So while I may be simply jaded from watching one of the worst offenses in baseball for the last half-decade or so, I’m a little less optimistic about the Giants' chances without an offensive upgrade.

Unfortunately, the trade market is a lot bleaker than it has been in recent years. Sabean’s refusal to rent players who will be eligible for free agency after the 2010 season eliminates candidates like Adam Dunn and Jayson Werth as possible targets. David DeJesus is a solid player who has been linked to the Giants a few times in recent weeks, but he simply isn’t enough of an upgrade over players on the current roster for the king’s ransom the Kansas City front office is demanding for his services. This leaves three significant available targets that have been linked to the Giants in recent weeks.

1) Corey Hart

Hart has been by far the most talked about player by the Giants brass and media. The 28-year-old is having a career year with a .292/.350/.565 line and ranks second in the NL in home runs and runs batted in with 22 and 70 respectively. However, the two-time All-Star benefits from a hitter’s ballpark, plays terrible defense and seems eerily reminiscent of a 2007 Aaron Rowand. Rowand was 28, put up the best numbers of his career at Citizen’s Bank — another notably hitter-friendly park — and then was signed by Sabean only to cut his home run total in half while slicing his OPS by 140 points during his first season in black and orange.

Though Hart’s contract is about 1/3 of Rowand’s, Hart’s numbers would surely go down some at the cavernous AT&T Park, and his defense would prove problematic in the tricky right field gap. While Hart’s bat would definitely improve the Giants’ lineup, I wouldn’t go for him if it meant sacrificing Jonathan Sanchez.

2) Prince Fielder

Prince Fielder is fat. So fat in fact, that many GMs are scared of trading for a 26-year-old entering his prime who has averaged .281/.383/.545 with 39 dingers and 105 RBI over his career. It is thought by many that Fielder's weight issues could make him liable to break down earlier on in his career than many other comparable players. Fielder will also cost the Giants an arm and a leg. According to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan perhaps Madison Bumgarner and Brandon Belt — although I’d contend he’d cost at least Matt Cain.

That said, the addition of Prince Fielder would absolutely legitimize the Giants lineup, and would give them a great shot at overtaking the first-place San Diego Padres. Prince is under contract for 2011 as well, but the subtraction of Cain would greatly weaken the Giants pitching staff for this season and for years to come. Once again, a great pickup, but only at the right price. I'm not sure Brewers GM Doug Melvin is looking to let that happen.

3) Josh Willingham

Although Nationals GM Mike Rizzo appears reluctant to deal Willingham, it's hard to imagine he wouldn’t jump at the right offer with his team still a few years away from contending. The young leftfielder is a true impact hitter — his WAR for 2010 is 3.0, which would rank third on the Giants offense behind Torres and Huff. He works the count, has some pop, and would fit nicely in the five-spot of the order. He might just be the best option for the Giants, because he could be obtainable without sacrificing a starter or top prospect. I haven’t seen any proposals as of yet, however I’d imagine a package of a Major League outfielder in addition to a few high-ceiling mid-level prospects could do the trick — think Schierholtz plus Francisco Peguero (CF, A+ San Jose) and Tommy Joseph (C, A- Augusta).

Teams are demanding a lot for their players at the break, making a major deal unlikely for the G-men. This team could surely benefit from a move for offense, but I fear giving up way too much in a trade more than I do enduring a second half without a shiny new toy for the lineup. The group in place has the potential to make a big stretch run, but it's just a matter of putting it all together. If the front office doesn't believe this is possible, fans will cross their fingers that Sabean will be able to pull off two shrewd trades in a single season (after dumping Bengie Molina on the Texas Rangers last month). Here’s to hoping lightning strikes twice.