As the 2025 trade deadline looms, the San Francisco Giants are at a pivotal crossroads. With their front office, led by team president Buster Posey, already pulling off a blockbuster for Rafael Devers, the Giants are all-in. But as they eye further upgrades, they must resist the temptation to cash in on the few blue-chip prospects left in a depleted farm system.
San Francisco’s system ranks near the bottom of MLB, and with only one player inside the MLB Pipeline Top 100, the margin for error is razor-thin. If they’re going to build a contender that lasts, there are three names who must be completely off-limits in trade talks: Bryce Eldridge, Carson Whisenhunt, and Dakota Jordan.
Bryce Eldridge: Future face of the franchise
Eldridge is the kind of prospect you don’t deal. Period. The 6-foot-7 slugger and 2023 first-round pick has rocketed through the minors thanks to elite raw power and advanced plate discipline. He hit .292 with 23 home runs in 2024 and started 2025 with a .280 average and .862 OPS before earning a promotion to Triple-A.
This isn’t just production—it’s production that fits a desperate need. Giants first basemen ranked dead last in MLB in average and slugging through early June. LaMonte Wade Jr. was hitting .167 before being DFA’d and ultimately traded. Eldridge, meanwhile, looks like a future middle-of-the-order anchor with a bat that could play at Oracle Park for the next decade.
Posey himself has said the plan is for Eldridge to stick at first base. With a big-league ETA as soon as late 2025, Eldridge is the solution to a glaring hole. He’s also the only Giants prospect firmly ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 (No. 19 overall).
Trading him would echo the regret of past mistakes, like the Zack Wheeler-for-Carlos Beltrán deal. Don’t do it again. Eldridge must be untouchable.
Carson Whisenhunt: the Giants next ace
The Giants’ best pitching prospect, Whisenhunt is a 24-year-old lefty known for his elite changeup and high whiff rates. His secondary stuff is filthy, and in 2025, he’s posted a 3.61 ERA and 1.13 WHIP through 12 Triple-A starts, earning a Futures Game nod.
Many expected him to debut by now, but depth and patience have kept him in Sacramento. That hasn’t stopped his name from popping up in trade rumors—and it makes sense. He’s nearly MLB-ready and has mid-rotation starter upside.
But here’s the problem: the Giants can’t afford to move him. Their farm is already thin. Take Whisenhunt out, and there’s virtually no high-end pitching left in the pipeline. Plus, Whisenhunt offers six years of team control at league-minimum cost—the type of value that allows teams to splurge elsewhere.
With Logan Webb and Landen Roupp already entrenched, adding Whisenhunt to that mix would give San Francisco a homegrown trio built to contend. Unless another team is offering a young star with years of control, the Giants shouldn’t even consider parting with him.
Dakota Jordan: The high-upside wild card
Jordan may not be a household name yet, but he might have the highest ceiling of any Giants prospect. Drafted in the fourth round in 2024 (despite first-round tools), Jordan brings 80-grade power and 80-grade speed—a rare and tantalizing combo.
The Mississippi State product hit .354 with 20 bombs in college, and he’s batting over .300 in Single-A San Jose in his first full pro season. He’s already mashed five homers by mid-June and is poised for a quick promotion.
Sure, he’s raw. There are swing-and-miss concerns. But that’s why he slipped in the draft—not because of his ceiling. With the Giants lacking impact bats in the outfield pipeline, Jordan could become the long-term answer in right field.
The Giants have already traded away 2024 first-rounder James Tibbs III for Devers. Shipping out Jordan, their 2024 fourth-rounder, would gut their positional talent pool. Teams will call about Jordan, hoping to buy low on a projectable freak athlete. San Francisco has to say no.
San Francisco is on the cusp of something real. They have a playoff-caliber roster and a window that could be just opening. But sustainable success comes from knowing which chips to cash in and which to keep.
Eldridge, Whisenhunt, and Jordan are the latter. They represent the future—a future that could soon resemble the homegrown core of the early 2010s dynasty. Posey has said he wants a team built on “internal answers.” Protecting these three names is how you make that vision a reality.
The Giants can still buy at the deadline. But they must do it with smart, mid-tier deals that don’t cost them their core future pieces. Let other teams mortgage their pipelines. San Francisco has seen what homegrown talent can build. If they’re wise, they’ll make sure Bryce Eldridge, Carson Whisenhunt, and Dakota Jordan are around to see it happen again.