San Francisco Giants Trade Rumors: Latest Trade Chatter

With the news Tuesday that the defending champion San Francisco Giants traded for utility infielder Jeff Keppinger, it's easy to presume the Giants are done dealing before the July 31 trade deadline.

After all, general manager Brian Sabean has made it a habit throughout the years of adding small pieces here and there to the offense while relying on the team's spectacular pitching.

In short, Sabean has yet to make a blockbuster trade for a big offensive bat in recent memory.

But the Giants may not be done dealing just yet.

There is still the possibility the Giants add an outfielder or a catcher.

There has been speculation that the Giants would be in the market for an outfielder like the New York Mets' Carlos Beltran or Tampa Bay Rays' B.J. Upton.

Recent reports have the Rays asking a lot for Upton, which probably means he's out of the Giants' sights now, but a deal for Beltran is still a possibility, given the main presumed trade piece, right-handed prospect Zack Wheeler, is still on the table.

But in all likelihood the Giants won't add a top outfielder, given Cody Ross has been coming on as of late and right fielder Nate Schierholtz is having a breakthrough season.

That leaves us with the Giants' catching options on the market.

Of all the trade rumors floating around, the Giants grabbing a catcher seem the most likely.

It's nothing short of a miracle (a la the Giants' run last season) that the club has yet to sink after Buster Posey was taken out for the season on May 25 in a collision with Florida Marlins rookie Scott Cousins.

They hold the best record in the National League West in June and July despite Posey's all-early-departure from the playing field.

But, simply put, the Giants can't continue like this with catchers Eli Whiteside and call-up Chris Stewart. Whiteside is batting .238 and Stewart, the Giants' better defensive option, is hitting .206 for the season.

Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com recently wrote that the Giants could look into someone like the Texas Rangers' Taylor Teagarden, who has been demoted to Triple-A since the Rangers' Mike Napoli came back from injury. In 33 games with Triple-A Round Rock, Teagarden is hitting .274 with nine home runs in just 117 at-bats. He batted .269 while with the Rangers this season.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle has speculated the Chicago Cubs' Geovany Soto or Koyie Hill could be in play for the Giants. Soto is hitting .238 this season, but he does have some pop, with eight home runs. Grabbing Hill would seem pointless, given he's hitting just .207 this season.

But the biggest name the Giants would likely love to add is the Cincinnati Reds' Ramon Hernandez. Hernandez, a solid veteran catcher, is currently an integral part of the Reds' push to the playoffs in the NL Central, but if they go on a slide before July 31 they could be sellers.

By the way, the Reds just lost two out of three games to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

And who could guide the Reds into mediocrity before the deadline?

That's right, the Giants, who play them in the final three days before the deadline.

If the Reds go into a slide leading up to their series with the Giants, every Giants fan is going to likely be praying the club makes the Reds look bad.

More so than usual.

Reds manager Dusty Baker just happens to have been the manager of the Giants back in the day.

Perhaps Hernandez becoming a Giant is "Dustiny."