Giants Would Benefit Greatly From Diamondbacks Falling out of NL Playoff Race

The San Francisco Giants remain right in the thick of the National League playoff race, which is incredibly crowded nearing the midway point of the regular season.

There are 10 teams with at least 40 victories in the NL, compared to only seven in the American League.

The pressure is on the Giants, who made a massive and much-needed upgrade to their lineup when they acquired Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox in a blockbuster trade.

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That move addressed their biggest weakness, as their lineup was still lacking some punch. When healthy, a group that includes Jung Hoo Lee, Willy Adames, Heliot Ramos, Matt Chapman and Wilmer Flores is quite formidable.

Casey Schmitt and Dominic Smith are producing at impressive clips, and Mike Yastrzemski remains a consistent source of offense as well.

The Devers trade will assuredly be the biggest move San Francisco makes ahead of the deadline, but don’t expect Buster Posey to rest on his laurels.

If there are other opportunities to upgrade the team, he will take advantage where he can, despite having an underwhelming farm system at the moment.

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One of the teams he will be keeping a close eye on is their NL West rivals, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Giants, like several teams around the league, would benefit greatly from the Diamondbacks falling out of the playoff race.

Not only would it eliminate one team that is trying to chase them down in the standings, but they would be open for business when it comes to trades.

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They have several tradeable assets, including someone San Francisco can benefit greatly from acquiring: starting pitcher, Merrill Kelly.

“If the division-rival D-backs wave the white flag, Kelly is a veteran who would make sense as a rental. Eflin is another playoff-tested arm on an expiring contract who could be a fit,” wrote Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report.

Kelly is having another productive season for Arizona with a 3.39 ERA across 16 starts, 93 innings pitched and 93 strikeouts.

He has been consistent on the mound over the last few years, and playing out the final year of his contract, should be affordable if he is made available on the trade market, even for a divisional rival.

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Adding him to the mix would solidify the middle and backend of the Giants’ starting rotation and replenish some of the depth that was lost with Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks being included in the package to land Devers.

It would take pressure off youngsters Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong, allowing San Francisco to manage their innings and provide insurance in case Justin Verlander cannot get on track.

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