Logan Webb talks SF Giants firesale at MLB trade deadline

ARLINGTON, Texas — It’s Logan Webb’s least favorite time of year.

Or, at least, it should be.

Imagine, a week on the calendar, year after year, that made your friends disappear. It’s like the purge, except only for some teammates with whom the Giants’ ace shared his closest bonds.

Farewell, Alex Cobb. So long, Tyler Rogers. And this year, well wishes to Robbie Ray.

“It’s not my first time,” Webb said. “It just means we’re not winning. That’s not fun.”

That was all Webb was in the mood to say on the matter, even after tossing six strong innings to lead an undermanned Giants squad to a 5-1 win to open their series against the Rangers.

Usually, he is only terse after losses.

But, in a way, Monday represented another loss for Webb, just not on the scoreboard.

He said goodbye to six teammates off to greener pastures and playoff pushes. Here, in San Francisco? Hello, eight more weeks of meaningless baseball and a much more youthful roster.

Sure, it’s part of the business.

It’s also been the cold reality three years running for the Giants’ longest-tenured player.

Webb signed a team-friendly contract extension at the start of 2023 that should have allowed the Giants to build a contender around their homegrown ace. Instead, three-and-a-half years into the five-year deal, he is the only player left on the roster from the time he put pen to paper.

This year’s group played itself so far out of contention that, for the first time, it was reasonable to wonder whether tearing it all down — trading Webb — might be best for both parties.

By now, the Giants’ farm system is better than their major-league roster, and a realistic window to contend probably begins around the time Webb’s current deal expires in 2029.

President of baseball operations Buster Posey quickly put the kibosh on that idea and, according to USA Today, turned down entreaties about Webb from the Braves and Astros.

“He’s a guy that I think we all see as somebody who can mentor the next wave of pitchers who come through San Francisco,” Posey said. “And yes, I do think we feel there’s still a chance, as bad as this year has been, that we can be a team that can be in contention [next year].”

That ought to be music to the ears of Webb, who hasn’t pitched in the postseason since 2021. He’s witnessed twice as many trade deadline sales (four) as he has playoff wins (two).

Add Ray’s name to the list of friends gone but not forgotten. Their bond doesn’t go as far back as some of the other teammates Webb has lost, but their families are as tight as any with Ray’s wife and four kids making their offseason home near Webb’s family of three in Arizona.

“I know we’ll stay friends,” Ray told USA Today, adding that the rotation’s former one-two punch “have become really best friends” since he joined the organization before the 2024 season.

Ray was sent packing to the Padres, whom the Giant will see one more time for three games in September. You can bet the two pitchers will spend some time in the outfield catching up.

Seeing the relationships broken up during his first trade deadline as a professional manager has opened Tony Vitello’s eyes, or at least maybe his dad, Greg’s, to the human side of the sport.

“I think you see why guys are friendly on the field these days,” Vitello said. “My dad used to get angry at that. … That could be your teammate [one day].”

Vitello’s voice was hoarse from all the hard conversations he had to have with the half dozen players dealt off his roster. He called the day “chaotic,” with all the moving pieces that left his active roster at only 25 players for that night’s game, including his starting pitcher, Webb.

The clubhouse TVs were tuned to MLB Network, and Webb acknowledged it was impossible to tune out the noise. Whatever distractions there were didn’t seem to affect him on the mound.

“What he did today is incredible,” Vitello said. “I said to Frank [Anderson, the Giants’ director of pitching], ‘We’ll see how this goes.’ The only thing that’d be worse is if he was dealing with something off the field, family-wise. But as far as business-wise, he’s the first one here today.

“I walked by him at different times, either on the phone or grabbing people, it was pure chaos around him. But it was anything but on the field.”

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