Holding a narrow two-game lead in the National League West Division, the San Francisco Giants went all in at the trade deadline, shoring up their pitching staff with two major acquisitions. Starter Matt Moore was shipped from Tampa Bay to the Bay Area, while reliever Will Smith also makes his way to San Francisco.

However, such appealing returns did not come without sacrifice on the Giants part. To acquire Moore, the Giants were forced to part with young starting third baseman Matt Duffy, currently on the disabled list. They also said good-bye to two prospects in the deal with Tampa Bay. They gave up a pair of prospects to acquire Smith. 

Matt Moore complements Bumgarner and Cueto atop San Francisco rotation

Although the Giants boasted a 1-2 punch in All-Stars Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto, San Francisco lacked solid starting pitching beyond those two hurlers. Moore has a 4.08 ERA and is on his way to his best season since his All-Star season in 2012. Although the Rays had other juicy hurlers reportedly on the market, the Giants opted to go with Moore, who should settle in nicely as the team's #3 pitcher and benefit from the move to the pitching-friendly National League. 

The trade, though, is a questionable one for the Giants, and history is not necessarily on their side. They parted with an excellent young player in Duffy, who could have been a star in San Francisco. Although he was only hitting .253 this season, Duffy's potential is undeniable. It is certainly tough to swallow that Duffy will now spend the prime years of his career with Tampa Bay, barring another trade. The Giants also gave up a pair of prospects in Lucius Fox, an offensively struggling shortstop hitting .207 in Class A, and  Michael Santos, a starter who has sparkled in Class A with a 2.91 ERA.

In 2014, the Oakland Athletics went all-in at the deadline to acquire an ace. They did that in picking up Jon Lester from the Boston Red Sox, but they gave up an MLB contributor in Yoenis Cespedes. Soon after the trade, the Athletics went into a tailspin, barely hung onto a wild-card spot, and lost the play-in game. This isn't to say that the move won't benefit the Giants, but it is a questionable trade and Giants' fans would be right to have their doubts about how this will affect their chances at a fourth World Series title in seven years.

Matt Duffy is headed to Tampa Bay. Photo courtesy of buschleaguesports.com

Will Smith headed to San Francisco for two more prospects

This one was a bit of an odd move by the Giants. While the need for a starter was glaringly obvious, the Giants seemed to have less of a need for bullpen help. With a solid closer in Santiago Casilla, plus a pair of relievers with sub-3 ERA marks, the the need for Smith is not clear. Smith has been very good in the past, making a combined 154 appearances over the past two seasons. However, he has struggled in just 27 games this season, with a respectable 3.68 ERA, but not up to his usual standards. With three relievers that have better ERAs then Smith, it'll be interesting to see what the Giants do with the former Milwaukee Brewer. 

To acquire Smith, the Giants gave up two more prospects in Andrew Susac and Phil Bickford. Susac is a catcher who is hitting .277 at Triple-A, and he is likely not far from the big leagues. 

Bickford is further from the Show, but he hasn't had any hiccups yet, thoroughly dominating the competition with a career ERA of 2.58. He is currently in High-A. 

The Giants certainly proclaimed themselves buyers with these moves at the deadline, but will these moves pay off? There are plenty of ways this could end up for the Giants, so just sit back and get ready to watch some very interesting stories unfold.

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