The San Francisco Giants are a team that has been relatively quiet in the MLB rumor mill. While they are still within striking distance in the National League Wild Card race, there haven’t been a lot of big rumors connecting them to an attempt to pull off a sizable trade.

With the MLB trade deadline just a few weeks away, the rumors should start heating up soon.

Currently, the Giants hold a 43-45 record. They are in a position where a trade or two could propel them to contention.

Add in the fact that San Francisco will be getting some major pitching reinforcements soon and it makes the trade deadline even more interesting. Blake Snell, Robbie Ray, Kyle Harrison, and Alex Cobb are all working their way back to the mound.

Keeping that in mind, the Giants could consider pursuing an impact bat before the trade deadline. One name has emerged as a potential target and would be a perfect trade deadline addition.

That name is Chicago Cubs first baseman and outfielder Cody Bellinger.

Throughout the 2024 season thus far in 74 games, Bellinger has hit .274/.335/.425 to go along with nine home runs and 37 RBI. His numbers haven’t been huge, but he has still been impactful for the Cubs.

Unfortunately for Chicago, the team has not been able to find success. That has led the Cubs to being potential sellers ahead of the deadline.

If they do place Bellinger on the trade block, San Francisco should be one of the teams calling with interest.

Bellinger is the kind of bat that can change everything for a team. When he’s hot, he’s among the best hitters in baseball. On the other hand, when he’s cold, he usually isn’t that bad.

Looking ahead to the future, Bellinger does have two years left on his contract after 2024. However, he also has potential outs in both of those years. It seems very possible that he could opt out of his deal at the end of the 2024 season and look for a new long-term contract.

Should the Giants be able to pull off a deal for Bellinger, they would have a decent shot at re-signing him. They have money to spend and he could be a long-term fixture for their lineup.

At 28 yeras old, Bellinger fits a long-term outlook for San Francisco as well. He could help them win in 2024 and for years to come if the two sides stay together.

While there is certainly no guarantee that Bellinger will be traded, he would be a perfect target for the Giants. If they want to make a quality addition to their lineup, they should try to call Chicago and see if they can get something done for the former MVP.

There was a lot of fire activity on the Fourth of July and overnight into Friday in the Denver metro area. Fire crews responded to dozens of fires, including several house fires and grass fires. 

South Metro Fire Rescue crews responded to 50 fires between 6 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. on Friday. Most of the fires involved grass or mulch and most were caused by fireworks, according to fire investigators. 

The grass fire burning near East Quincy Avenue and South Bellaire Circle was reported just before 6 a.m. Friday and burned approximately 150 feet by 150 feet of grass. Witnesses reported hearing a loud firework boom followed by smoke and flames. Crews found a firework on the trail that separated the fire down the middle. Exactly what caused that fire is being investigated. 

One adult was seriously injured and one child suffered minor injuries in separate fireworks incidents, according to fire crews. Both were treated and transported to the hospital.  

Firefighters in the Denver Fire Department responded to a house fire at 52nd and Altura Street just before midnight. Firefighters battled the fire that spread to the neighboring home.    

There were no reported injuries in that fire but the families were displaced. What caused the fire is being investigated.   

The Denver Fire Department told CBS News Colorado that crews responded to a total of five house fires overnight however it was unclear whether all five suffered damage. 

Crews also responded to 119 trash and weed fires on the Fourth of July through Friday morning. 

West Metro Fire Rescue responded to 29 fires between 6 p.m. Thursday to 2 a.m. Friday. A majority of those fires were fireworks-related. One of those was a structure fire where the family improperly disposed of spent fireworks, throwing them into a trash can in the garage, causing minor damage. 

Fire crews issued a reminder that the fire danger is high in that district patrolled by West Metro Fire Rescue and expected to remain high for the next several days. 

Aurora Fire Rescue crews rushed to a fire at a multi-family structure near the 100 block of South Sable Boulevard about 10 p.m. on Thursday. When they arrived, they found heavy fire on the back side of the structure extending into the attic space. Four units sustained heavy damage in the fire. 

One person suffered minor injuries and was rushed to the hospital. What caused the fire is being investigated. 

In Fort Collins, Poudre Fire Authority crews rushed to a garage fire burning at a home in the 600 block of Hanna Street just before 1 a.m. Friday. When crews arrived, they found the attached garage engulfed in flames. One person inside the home was able to escape unharmed and crews rescued a dog that was inside. What caused that fire is being investigated. 

When it comes to this year’s MLB Draft, the Seattle Mariners’ scouting department knows one sure thing: It will need to be ready to think on its feet.

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After having a whopping three first-round selections in a top-heavy draft last year, the Mariners hold the 15th overall pick in 2024. Exactly who will be available when Seattle is on the clock will be quite the mystery, even to the organization’s dialed-in scouting department.

“This was a different one,” Mariners director of amateur scouting Scott Hunter said about this year’s draft on Wednesday. “It’s going to be more of a challenge. I think we’re gonna have to do a lot of heavy lifting and figuring out (how to extract) the players that really we believe in for what the Mariners do.”

The 2023 draft was stocked with talented high school position players, which resulted in Seattle going that route for all three of its first-round selections. According to Hunter, this year’s draft – which begins with the first and second rounds July 14 and runs through July 16 – doesn’t have near the caliber of depth at the top.

“The depth of the draft is a lot different. It’s a weird class,” Hunter said. “… It’s a little thinner than last year’s at top of the draft. I think there’s about nine or ten players we think are going to be off the board before we pick, and then after that, we’re pretty much saying it’s dealer’s choice for what organizations are going to do.”

A different route for M’s?

Over the past several years, Hunter and his staff have hit on a number of early-round picks. First it was a run of college pitchers picked in the first round in consecutive years, starting with Logan Gilbert in 2018, then George Kirby and Emerson Hancock. In the three drafts since, Seattle has shifted its focus to high school bats, selecting catcher Harry Ford in the first round of 2021, shortstop Cole Young in 2022 and infielders Colt Emerson and Tai Peete and outfielder Jonny Farmelo in 2023.

Gilbert, Kirby and Hancock have all reached the majors. (Hancock is currently in Triple-A, which is more of a testament to Seattle’s pitching depth than Hancock’s talent). Ford, Young, Emerson and Farmelo are all rated as top-100 prospects by either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline, or both.

With that type of success, it appears Seattle is doing something right when it comes to scouting high school bats and college arms. However, they may have to go a different route with their first-rounder this month.

“There’s a lot of high school pitching, which I know we haven’t really done much at the top of the draft, but it’s actually really in play for us because we have to consider every demographic in the draft,” Hunter said. “And we don’t want to make poor decisions, but we also want to make sure we’re giving our best ourselves the best chance to make a good decision. Sometimes the high school pitcher could be that guy.”

Seattle hasn’t taken a high school pitcher in the first round since Hunter was hired following the 2016 season. The highest prep hurler taken during that stretch was right-hander Sam Carlson going in the second round at N0. 55 in 2017. Carlson’s career has been hampered by injuries, but Seattle is seeing some good early returns  from a recent high school pitcher it drafted. Michael Morales, a third-rounder in 2021, is with Double-A Arkansas at just 21 years old and is the Mariners’ No. 12 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

Hunter said the injury risk and time it takes to reach the majors are some of the cons of taking a pitcher out of high school. However, he also noted that high school pitchers are starting to have more success early on in the minors than in the past, and they’re entering pro baseball with better raw stuff and understanding of analytics than ever.

“If you pick the right high school pitcher, you usually have a lot of success,” Hunter said, “but there is a lot of landmines and risk that goes into that.”

More on the Seattle Mariners

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• ‘Classic slump’: MLB insider diagnoses what’s wrong with Julio’s swing
• How much will Gregory Santos’ arrival to bullpen help the Mariners?
• Video: Mariners Breakdown – Is AL West now a two-team race?
• Seattle Mariners sign former All-Star reliever, make roster move at catcher

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