Giants Shouldn't Move Carlos Rodon amid MLB Trade Deadline Rumors

The San Francisco Giants reside in one of the most peculiar situations as the Major League Baseball trade deadline approaches on Tuesday.

The Giants sit 4.5 games back of the last National League wild-card spot, and their schedule opens up for a chance to make a surge above the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies in the next two months.

However, the Giants could throw their playoff aspirations to the side and cash-in on the weak starting pitcher market. Carlos Rodon would be viewed as the top arm left on the market if the Giants made him available before 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported on Monday night that the Giants have been "very quiet" and that a rival executive believes they "are not going to trade" Rodon.

Rodon enters Tuesday second in the NL in strikeouts behind Corbin Burnes, tied for eighth in wins and 13th in ERA and WHIP.

The left-handed hurler is coming off back-to-back 10-strikeout games against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs. He has six double-digit strikeout performances this season.

Rodon is the backbone of the starting rotation, and the Giants could make a wild-card push behind their ace Logan Webb, as well as Alex Cobb and Alex Wood.

San Francisco's rotation is better than the two teams directly in front of it in the NL wild-card race. Philadelphia is struggling for consistency behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, while St. Louis has been ravaged by injuries to Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz.

The Cardinals moved for Jose Quintana from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday to provide some depth behind Adam Wainwright and Miles Mikolas. Even with Quintana in the fold, San Francisco can outpitch St. Louis because of its extra depth.

Philadelphia has been silent on the trade front, and St. Louis' pursuit of Juan Soto might be highjacked by the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Even if Soto joins the Cardinals, they would have to outhit opponents to win games because their starting pitching is not up to snuff.

San Francisco needs to look past its midweek series with the Dodgers to see how quickly the wild-card race could change in its favor if it holds on to Rodon.

The Giants have a five-game road trip against Oakland and San Diego before it hosts Pittsburgh and Arizona for seven games and then visits Colorado for three games. Detroit and Minnesota are also on the second road trip. Games could be picked up in the standings with wins over the Tigers as well.

The 12-game stretch against the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Rockies and Tigers could move the Giants a few games up in the wild-card standings. Philadelphia has nine games with Atlanta and the New York Mets in August, while the Cardinals have six games with the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers in the next two weeks.

San Francisco's gap to the last wild-card spot could shrink over the next few weeks, and if it keeps Rodon past Tuesday, the Giants could leapfrog the Phillies and Cardinals to join the six-team playoff field.

The counter to keeping Rodon is that the Giants could get a few players in return for the left-handed pitcher on Tuesday since he would be the best pitcher available. Frankie Montas and Luis Castillo have already been dealt, and a few teams in need of starters would love to add Rodon.

Rodon signed a two-year deal in San Francisco during the offseason, so the Giants may look ahead by trading him for a few prospects if it can't extend his deal past 2023.

San Francisco needs to walk the fine balance between winning this season while also planning for the future, something the Milwaukee Brewers brought into play with the Josh Hader trade on Monday.

The wise choice for the Giants would be to keep Rodon and chase a playoff spot in 2022 because the other contenders are not as strong as they may be in previous years.

Once the Giants book a postseason ticket, there is always a chance their pitching staff catches fire and leads them deep into the postseason. The only way the Giants can keep that dream alive is to keep their ace past the trade deadline.