As the San Francisco Giants continue to fight their way back into the final National League wild card slot in their 2025 campaign, they have a solid future to look forward to in their farm system. Despite having limited picks and one of the smallest bonus pools in the MLB draft, the Giants added a well-rounded impact player in Tennessee shortstop Gavin Kilen at No. 13 overall. San Francisco's infield pipeline is now that much stronger with Kilen joining their top prospect, first baseman Bryce Eldridge.

The San Francisco Giants are finding themselves at a crossroads just a week before the trade deadline, at five games above .500 and narrowly out of the playoff picture for right now. Whether the Giants actually want to go all in on this season remains to be seen, but if they do they will need some pitching help. All season long, in trade discussions from insiders and pundits, the theory from most has been that teams are more needy than what's out there in terms of starting pitching. For San Francisco though, they may have just been done a favor by the St. Louis Cardinals.

If history is any guide, the St. Louis Cardinals shouldn't be too worried about the visiting San Diego Padres this week. The Cardinals are hosting the Padres in a four-game set at Busch Stadium from Thursday through Sunday. According to OptaSTATS, the Cardinals' 172-87 all-time record at home against the Padres gives them the second-best home wining percentage by a current National League franchise over another.

After being swept by the Toronto Blue Jays to start the second half of the season, the San Francisco Giants were able to bounce back with a series win against the Atlanta Braves. It was a far from ideal restart after the All-Star break with the Giants losing four straight games.

Four months ago, the Giants' brass was tasked with figuring out how they would find enough innings for their abundance of starting pitchers. Hayden Birdsong's demotion combined with Justin Verlander's inconsistency highlight the team's need for major-league rotation depth as the July 31 trade deadline looms. It's an issue that has been brewing since the team sent Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Rafael Devers.

San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey has shown a willingness to address the team's biggest weakness, their offense. In free agency, he made a splash as his first move since taking over the front office, signing shortstop Willy Adames away from the Milwaukee Brewers, with the sides agreeing to a historic seven-year, $182 million deal. It was the largest contract in franchise history until Posey made another major addition a few weeks ago. More News: Does Giants Young Pitcher Hayden Birdsong Miss Being Able To Hit?

All Times EDT East Division W L Pct GB New York 59 44 .573 — Philadelphia 58 44 .569 ½ Miami 48 53 .475 10 Atlanta 44 57 .436 14 Washington 41 61 .402 17½ Central Division W L Pct GB Milwaukee 61 41 .598 — Chicago 60 42 .588 1 Cincinnati 53 50 .515 8½ St. Louis 52 51 .505 9½ Pittsburgh 42 61 .408 19½ West Division W L Pct GB Los Angeles 60 43 .583 — San Diego 55 47 .539 4½ San Francisco 54 49 .524 6 Arizona 50 53 .485 10 Colorado 26 76 .255 33½ Wednesday's Games Cincinnati 5, Washington 0 Miami 3, San Diego 2 Pittsburgh 6, Detroit 1 San Francisco 9, Atlanta 3 N.Y. Mets 6, L.A. Angels 3 Kansas City 8, Chicago Cubs 4 Colorado 6, St. Louis 0 Milwaukee 10, Seattle 2 Houston 4, Arizona 3 L.A. Dodgers

The Athletics will not reach the goals they set out for themselves this season, which was to achieve an 81-81 record and gear up to compete in 2026. Now, they might trade away a handful of players at the 2025 trade deadline and reposition themselves. The A's may trade away three pitchers: Luis Severino, J.P. Sears, and Jeffrey Springs. Which leads us to the San Francisco Giants, the old neighbor across the bay.

Verlander was winless in his first 16 starts for the Giants, the longest such stretch in franchise history.

Yesterday on the farm.

The San Francisco Giants may not have what is seen by anyone as an elite farm system filled with future stars, but their top prospect is exactly that. Lanky first baseman Bryce Eldridge is ranked as a top-20 prospect in Major League Baseball and is the best in the system for the Giants. Earlier this season, he became the youngest player in the Pacific League when he reached Triple-A Sacramento at just 20 years old. Once he got there, Eldridge started off hot but understandably cooled off with the difficult adjustment before suffering a hamstring injury that kept him out several weeks.

Rafael Devers appears to have broken out of his slump.

Pitcher Justin Verlander finally put an end to an ignominious streak that had reached historic proportions. Verlander got his first win in 17 starts with the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, July 23, allowing one hit over five scoreless innings in a 9-3 victory against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. It ended the longest streak of starts without a win in Giants history and the longest skid of Verlander's 20-year MLB career. The three-time Cy Young winner battled through five walks and didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning to register his first win since he signed a one-year, $15 million contract with San Francisco this past offseason.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander has been injured since May.

The team with a 12/4 K/BB ratio pitching-wise lost to the team with the 7/5 K/BB ratio by six runs because the Giants hit three homers

The Atlanta Braves optioned right-handers Davis Daniel and Wander Suero, who combined to give up nine runs in Tuesday night's 9-0 loss to San Francisco, to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday. Daniel (0-1, 5.40) allowed five earned runs in five innings. Suero gave up four runs in two innings. The Braves recalled left-hander Dylan Dodd and right-hander Hunter Stratton before Wednesday's game against the Giants.

That's a lot of innings.

The Giants have reportedly expressed interest in Pirates infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have struggled recently, but manager Dave Roberts is more concerned about getting his guys healthy than anything else.

What could the Atlanta Braves get for this curveball specialist?