PHOENIX–The trade deadline is baseball’s version of chess, an opportunity for general managers to outsmart one another in an effort to best position their franchises for immediate or future success.
When Giants executives Brian Sabean and Bobby Evans have analyzed their pieces and evaluated options, the front office duo has almost always devised aggressive strategies and often used maneuvers that led to endgame domination.
This year, with a .500 club and long playoff odds in front of them, Sabean and Evans sat down at the table before standing up to spectate. For the first time since 2013, the Giants did not execute a deadline trade and instead opted to see if their current roster has enough left in the tank to challenge for National League West supremacy.