San Francisco Giants: Final 2017 Trade Deadline Grades

You didn't hear a sound from the San Francisco Giants Monday afternoon because they did not make an impact move at the non-waiver trade deadline.

Despite having the worst record in baseball and an aging roster in desperate need of an overhaul, the Giants were noticeably silent on the trade market. Their lone move came Wednesday when they sent Eduardo Nunez to the Boston Red Sox for a pair of minor leaguers.

Plenty of other players were available, but a combination of injuries, poor production and unfavorable contracts contributed to the lack of deals. As a result, the Giants are stuck with what they have for the rest of the season unless they're able to make some moves in August using the trade waiver process.

Follow along as we break down what the Giants did, what they weren't able to do and what they could still accomplish before this massively disappointing season comes to an end.

The Big (Only) Deal

Traded Eduardo Nunez to Boston

Nunez was the Giants' most consistent hitter not named Buster this season, hitting .308 in 76 games with four home runs, 31 RBI and 18 stolen bases (10 more than anyone else on the team). A free agent in the offseason, his $4.2 million contract made him easy to unload, and it helped that teams like the Red Sox desperately needed someone who could play multiple positions.

After starting games at third base (47), left field (17) and shortstop (10) for the Giants, the 30-year-old Nunez has been at second base and as the designated hitter since joining Boston.

Nunez didn't have a penchant for taking a pitch, though, with only 12 walks in 318 plate appearances before the trade. He also wasn't particularly clutch, hitting .250 (17-for-68) in the eighth inning or later.

The Giants got back minor league pitchers Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos in the deal. Both are right-handers, with Anderson in his first full season of pro ball after getting drafted in the third round by Boston in 2016. Santos, who is only 17, has yet to play outside of the Dominican Republic.

The (Many) Missed Opportunities

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

A no-trade clause was among the many things that kept the Giants from trading Jeff Samardzija.

Quite a few Giants' names were floated about in the days and weeks leading up to the deadline, but in almost every case, those players' shortcomings, injuries or contract status were mentioned as much as their good qualities. Still, the fact general manager Bobby Evans didn't make any moves—other than the Nunez trade—was surprising.

Among the hitters the Giants made available were outfielder Denard Span, per ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick, though there wasn't much of a market for a 33-year-old center fielder with dwindling baserunning skills and below-average defense. On Monday, ESPN's Buster Olney reported the Angels had talked about trading for second baseman Joe Panik but those discussions "apparently didn't go anywhere."

Panik becomes arbitration-eligible this winter but is under team control through 2020, making him still valuable to the Giants. The same couldn't be said for the likes of first baseman Brandon Belt, shortstop Brandon Crawford or right fielder Hunter Pence, who entering Monday were hitting a collective .237 with 32 home runs and 142 RBI and whom the Giants owe a combined $50.9 million next season.

On the pitching front, right-hander Jeff Samardzija was the most attractive asset the Giants could have hoped to unload, but a partial no-trade clause made it even harder to get rid of a 32-year-old with a 5-11 record and 4.85 ERA who is owed $59.4 million from 2018 to 2020. Per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, the team that was rumored to be most interested in him, Houston, was not one of the eight clubs he couldn't veto a trade to.

Projecting Trade Impact

Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

A major bust with Boston, the Giants hope Pablo Sandoval can find his old form.

Since the Giants only made the one move and the players they got for Eduardo Nunez are years away from being in the majors, there's not much here to project in terms of immediate impact. If anything, that trade helps clear the way for the return of a favorite son, Pablo Sandoval, who signed as a free agent on July 22 after getting released by Boston.

Sandoval, known affectionally as Kung Fu Panda during his tenure with the Giants from 2008-14, is playing at Triple-A but figures to get called up any day. Per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants only have to pay the major league minimum—with the Red Sox covering the rest of this year's salary, as well as $18.6 million for 2018 and 2019—but if he's not on the big league roster at the end of this season, he becomes a free agent.

Moves They Can Still Make

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Monday was officially considered baseball's non-waiver trade deadline, the last chance that teams could swap players without any restrictions. But moves can (and will) still be made prior to August 31, which is when players must be acquired in order to be eligible for the postseason.

That's not a concern of the Giants, but it is for contending teams, many of whom still have needs and will be looking to add before September. To do that, though, will require any players they pick up to first go through revocable waivers.

This means any team in the league can claim one of those players, and if they make a claim, then it's up to the player's current club to either work out a trade, release them or pull them back.

Quite a few players end up getting put on waivers in August, but only a handful of notable names ever get claimed and even fewer get traded. Last season the biggest waiver trades were the Los Angeles Dodgers getting catcher Carlos Ruiz from Philadelphia and Cleveland picking up outfielder Coco Crisp from Oakland.

Most waiver deals are one-sided, with the dealing teams just hoping to unload salary and free roster space. Still, this is an opportunity for the Giants to see who is truly interested in the likes of starters Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, reliever Hunter Strickland and outfielders Hunter Pence and Denard Span.

Final Trade Deadline Grade

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

On Monday alone there were 15 trades announced (according to MLB.com's transactions list) and involved pretty much every team with a losing record. Either that or they'd been incredibly busy in the days leading up to the deadline such as the Chicago White Sox, who between July 13-30 unloaded seven guys off their big league roster.

And then there was the Giants, whose only move—sending Eduardo Nunez to Boston for two minor-leaguers last week—hardly registered a blip on the radar.

"They didn't move any of their pieces, got nothing new and gave fans pretty much zero reason to look forward to their remaining 55 games,” Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote. "Unless you have a dusty Panda hat in your closet that you’d like to wear one last time."

If not for the ability to still make deals through August, albeit with more limitations because of the waiver process, the Giants would be staring at a failing grade. Instead they're barely passing.

Grade: D

Statistics are provided by Baseball Reference and MiLB.com, unless otherwise noted. Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.