After an improbable 12-3 run to respectability, the San Francisco Giants find themselves facing a dilemma at 54-52: Do they buy or sell ahead of Wednesday’s trade deadline? Their answer should have a major impact on this week’s three-game series with the 55-50 Philadelphia Phillies – another playoff bubble team with some decisions to make. Thursday’s finale will air at 1:05 PM ET on the MLB Network.
The Giants have yet to announce a starting pitcher at press time, which makes sense – their rotation might be due for an extreme renovation if they trade away Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija. The Phillies have already penciled in Jake Arrieta (4.51 ERA), even though he’s been dealing with a bone spur in his right elbow. Although he failed to see the sixth inning in any of his four July starts, Philadelphia went 2-2 to leave them at 12-9 with Arrieta on the mound, splitting the total at 10-10-1.
San Francisco are the healthier of these two clubs by a wide margin. SS Jean Segura (.767 OPS) is the latest Phillie to go down; he’s considered day-to-day with a bruised right shin that he suffered during Sunday’s 9-4 win over Atlanta.
