Zaidi pushes back on reports of Giants selling at deadline

Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi pushed back against reports that the team’s front office has decided to sell the club off for parts Sunday.

He said the entire organization is excited by how well the team has performed since late June, winning 15 of their last 18 and joining a crowded field of contenders for the second Wild Card spot, but nothing has changed for the Giants plans moving forward.

Zaidi specifically addressed a recent article from ESPN’s Jeff Passan that reported unequivocally that the Giants would be sellers when it came to Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith. Zaidi said he was puzzled by the story, which was not sourced:

“I really like Jeff Passan, I know that he must have gotten it from sources that he felt were credible to write it the way he did, but that’s never been our position. We’ve never had internal meetings or conversations about having decided a firm direction. I think it’s very possible that he talked to other people around the game who have that impression, for whatever reason, but it did not come from us.”

He said the front office’s mindset hasn’t changed from the season’s start, and they have every intention of balancing the present with the future in the days leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. He said if the team continues to climb in the standings it could color the decisions the front office makes:

“We’re continuing to play out this month with how the team is playing and what the market will yield for for certain guys, that’s the most honest, transparent answer that I can give on the next 10 days. …We’ve been fielding calls all year and even going back to the offseason. I haven’t changed my phone number or taken the phone off the ringer, you still take those calls.”

Up Next

The Giants open a three game series at Oracle Park with the Cubs Monday night. Shaun Anderson (3-2, 3.87 ERA) will toe the rubber against fellow right-handed rookie Alec Mills (0-0, 4.50 ERA) for a 6:45 p.m. start.

Notes

Evan Longoria played catch Monday for the first time since he was placed on the 10-day injured list for left plantar fasciitis.

Julie Parker is SFBay’s San Francisco Giants beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @InsideThePark3r on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Giants baseball.