San Francisco Giants Trade Rumors: Should Team Go All In On Cliff Lee Deal? Ricky Nolasco and NY Yankees Phil Hughes On Trading Block For July 31 Deadline

The San Francisco Giants are defending World Series champions and despite being back in the NL West with the calendar turning into July, there are already signs of worry in the Bay Area and one issue later in the year could be the depth of their starting pitching, meaning the team could go after a big name at the trading deadline like Cliff Lee.

According to Comcast SportsNet and Bleacher Report, the Giants might be looking for a top of the line starter at the trading deadline after dealing with injuries this year, including placing Ryan Vogelsong on the disabled list and dealing with some struggles from Tim Lincecum and others. Depth has become an issue quickly for the team and Brian Sabean has proven in the past that he isn't afraid to make a move, like he did last season with Hunter Pence and Marco Scutaro. Andrew Baggerly from CSN wrote that the team could look to target Lee, as the Phillies may want to start trimming payroll as this season continues and with Roy Halladay on the DL, Lee would be the most obvious option if their record doesn't start improving.

The Giants have enough of a mix with veterans and young players and prospects to make the move and it likely wouldn't hurt much and since Vogelsong is injured and the division has suddenly become very competitive with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies, a trade is looking likely. Other factors for the Giants is that Tim Lincecum will be a free agent in 2014 and Barry Zito's contract is also finally coming off of the books. Zito has an $18 million option that vests with 200 innings pitched and after watching Lincecum break down over the past few years they may be weary to give him another contract.

Depending on what happens with the Phillies, they could decide to sell off some talent like the Red Sox did last year and Lee could be a victim of that and Giants may try to take advantage. The one hangup could be the no-trade clause in Lee's contract, which has 21 names on it, but he may want to compete for a World Series and the defending champions are one place that he can do that. The Giants aren't afraid to give up prospects, as evidenced by when they traded Zack Wheeler to the Mets for Carlos Beltran and while that didn't work out World Series wise in 2011, Wheeler is now the top prospect for the Mets and the Giants are defending champs.

Lee is getting paid a hefty price with $25 million this season, but with Zito's contract coming off soon and the team looking for its fourth World Series title in four seasons, any move is possible for Sabean and company. Some other options for the Giants could be names like Ricky Nolasco and Shaun Marcum, but Lee could be a great fit by the Bay for the World champs. The Giants are ranked 13th in runs this season, sixth in batting average while ranking 21st in ERA and 28th in quality starts, something that Lee could help improve.