Giants hang on to biggest names at trade deadline, part with others

SAN FRANCISCO — Tuesday’s trade deadline came and passed with the Giants’ two most likely trade pieces still on their roster.

Although the team offloaded Darin Ruf, Curt Casali and a pair of injured pitchers, the Giants hung on to left-hander Carlos Rodón and outfielder Joc Pederson, who were both subjects of rumors leading up to the 3 p.m. deadline.

At 51-52 and 4½ games back of the third National League wild-card spot, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi opted against making any major shakeups, though Rodón reportedly drew wide interest.

Of the four players the Giants moved at the deadline, two never appeared in a game for them: recently signed reliever Trevor Rosenthal, shipped to the Brewers, and injured starter Matthew Boyd, who went to the Mariners along with Casali, who is also on the injured list.

The club received a package of four players from the Mets in exchange for Ruf in their most significant move of the deadline and received two more prospects in the deals for Casali, Boyd and Rosenthal.

Rodón, who has 158 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA in 123 innings, was thought to be one of the top pitchers available but according to reports, the Giants and possible trade suitors differed in how they valued Rodón given his ability to opt out of his contract after this season.

Pederson, whose contract expires after this season, avoided being traded at the deadline for the second straight season. He moved from the Cubs to the Braves last year and ended up with a World Series ring.

When news broke that Ruf was on the move, it appeared the Giants may have been opting to sell off their major trade pieces in exchange for prospects, effectively tanking on the season. But that’s not what happened, as they received 29-year-old major leaguer J.D. Davis as the centerpiece of the return for Ruf.

Now the Giants move forward into the season’s final two months with Rodón and Pederson, their two representatives in last month’s All-Star Game. They are chasing Philadelphia — one of the teams rumored to be interested in Rodón — for that final wild card spot, with St. Louis (one game back) to leap in between.

Rodón struck out 10 Cubs across seven scoreless innings Sunday in his final start before the deadline, following two straight outings giving up five earned runs.

Pederson, meanwhile, is coming off a rough July in which he slashed just .133/.221/.200 over 22 games (16 starts), marking the worst month he’s had by those measures since August of 2017.