5 things worth watching in Giants’ second half: ‘It can happen’

SEATTLE — Before the Giants went their separate ways for the All-Star break, manager Tony Vitello looked to two members of his coaching staff for inspiration for what could only be described as a miracle in the second half.

Ron Washington, now the Giants’ infield coach, was the third base coach and bullpen coach Jesse Chavez was an active member of the relief corps on the 2021 Braves.

For two men with nearly a half-century of experience in the big leagues between them, that team — which owned a losing record at the All-Star break — netted each his only World Series ring.

“I’m not saying that it’s going to happen,” Giants starter Logan Webb said, recollecting the message to the team. “But it is baseball, and it can happen.”

It’s unlikely. Even drawing on the experience of that Atlanta team is doing a bit of wishcasting. The lowest odds FanGraphs gave them to make the playoffs came on June 22, at 7%. The last time the Giants’ chances — currently at 0.6% — were above 7% was on May 17.

But there is still plenty to look forward to over this final 66-game march to the finish line.

1) The possibility of one good stretch of baseball

In retrospect, the Giants’ season was over on May 30, when they fell 14 games under .500 for the first time, at 22-36. They dug themselves a hole far too deep to climb out of.

But in more than a month since, they’ve shown flashes of the team that, on paper, president of baseball operations Buster Posey expected to contend for the playoffs. As Rafael Devers has heated up, so has the offense, while Webb and Robbie Ray have, for stretches, formed the two-headed monster a manager dreams of at the front of their starting rotation. 

Still, it resulted in only a 19-19 record over their last 38 games going into the break.

Vitello has been frank about his learning curve transitioning from college ball to the big leagues, and players have been adamant they haven’t played their best baseball yet.

Are they capable of stringing together more than three wins in a row? Sweeping a series? If they can accomplish either out of the gate for the first time this season, maybe Posey can be convinced not to tear this roster apart before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

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2) A possible haul at trade deadline

In all likelihood, Ray’s start Sunday in Seattle will be one of his last in a Giants uniform. Their only player to appear in the All-Star Game, Luis Arraez, will likely play for someone else soon, too. The Giants are one of only seven teams more than four games out of a playoff spot, potentially making Posey the “beau of the ball” this deadline season.

Despite possessing a better record last year, Posey was still an aggressive seller — only six weeks after trading for Devers — and did well for himself. The package of Parks Harber, Jesus Rodriguez and two other prospects for Camilo Doval looks like a boon, and the return for Tyler Rogers — Drew Gilbert, Blade Tidwell and Jose Butto — also brought back instant contributors.

It seems to be a foregone conclusion that the two veterans on expiring contracts will be moved, but you never know what trades will materialize as the clock winds down. The deal that sent Mike Yastrzemski to the Royals last summer, for example, only came together in the final hour.

This roster was built to win now, so there is no shortage of players who could help contenders.

The Giants, for example, would have to listen if a team came calling about Heliot Ramos or Casey Schmitt in a market starved for impact hitters from the right side. The only players considered off the table in trade talks are Webb and Bryce Eldridge.

3) Youth movement

Almost as exciting as the prospects coming back in any trade will be the opportunities created for young players already in the organization. Between Ray and Tyler Mahle, also on a one-year deal, there could soon be two open spots in the starting rotation.

In an appearance Thursday on KNBR, Posey named three pitchers whom he sees as primed to take on big-league roles: Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour and Tidwell.

It wouldn’t be crazy to see Joe Whitman, a second-round pick in 2023, or Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson, a part of the Patrick Bailey trade, get a look, either.

Any trade involving Arraez or another position player will be more about clearing logjams on the MLB roster, namely giving Schmitt a position to play every day. But Posey mentioned one outfielder in Triple-A who could be in line for a promotion: Scott Bandura, a left-handed hitter from Princeton who stole 41 bases last season; he has a .731 OPS with Sacramento.

4) Down on the farm

For all that’s gone wrong at the major league level, it’s been the opposite story at pretty much every level of the minor leagues. A farm system that not long ago was considered one of the least fertile in the sport has been revived, especially at the lower levels, with international signings such as Josuar Gonzalez, Luis Hernandez and Jhonny Level, as well as breakout seasons from recent draft picks Gavin Kilen, Dakota Jordan and Trevor Cohen.

Of the Giants’ five affiliates, three are leading their leagues. Altogether, the system has produced a .592 winning percentage, the best of any organization in baseball.

Fresh off representing the Giants at the Futures Game, Kilen and Jordan will start the second half with Double-A Richmond, and more promotions could make things even more interesting.

In theory, Level shouldn’t be far behind, which would open up the middle infield at San Jose for Gonzalez and Hernandez, who essentially hold the keys to the franchise’s future in their hands.

5) Chasing numbers

Despite the home team’s lousy record, more and more fans continue to pass through the turnstiles at Third and King. Attendance is up from last year, at 36,646 per game, and the Giants are within reach of drawing 3 million fans for the first time since 2018.

They must average 37,577 over their remaining 34 home dates to cross the threshold for the 18th time in the 27 seasons they’ve played at their waterfront ballpark.

To that end, the fans need something to get invested in in the absence of a playoff race. Schmitt and Devers going back and forth in the race to lead the team in home runs is worth watching.

With 19 apiece going into the break, both players have a chance to reach 30 — something no Giant had done since Barry Bonds before Willy Adames did so in Game 162 of last season.

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