Trade rumors: The Giants are looking for an ace

Over the weekend, there was finally a Giants rumor. Like, I was about to start making stuff up. I have a SOURCE:, maybe even two, so you wouldn't even know the difference. Heard this: Giants might get Chris Sale according to a MLB: The Show deal my Playstation thought was reasonable.

No, there was an actual rumor. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Giants are one of the teams still sniffing around Cole Hamels. You might have wrinkled your nose because your last memory of Hamels might be the Giants disassembling him, but Hamels is very, very good. The rumor was a good rumor.

And now we have a second hint that the Giants' strategy is the sensible one.

#SFGiants still shopping for starting pitching, but only for top-of-rotation arms (Hamels, Price) who could start Game 2 in Oct after MadBum

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 27, 2015

The Mike Leake rumors never made a lick of sense. Incremental upgrades on Tim Hudson aren't what this team needs. They need a horse, a co-ace, a dude at the top of the rotation, by gum.

Hamels would be the big free agent acquisition of the offseason, too, in a way. He has five years and $95 million left three years and $76 million left, with an attainable vesting option for a fourth year, which is a little less than the Giants reportedly offered James Shields and a fair amount less than what they offered Jon Lester. It would be interesting to see how much money the Giants would be willing to take on, and how that would affect the prospect return.

Price would just be for this season, but, gaaaaaaaaah, I can't stop thinking about it. The Tigers still aren't sure they're selling, as they're not going to rebuild the franchise with the return they get from a rental pitcher, and they might still be working on the Hunter Pence plan -- valuing the exclusive negotiating window at the end of the season more than the potential prospect return.

Odds the Giants get either? Low, but you never know which team is fixated on which prospects. The Tigers might love, absolutely love, Tyler Beede. The Phillies might be desperate for a Carlos Ruiz heir, too.

The only thing I'm pretty sure of is that the Dodgers will get one of these aces, so QUIT SCREWING AROUND. But don't do anything rash. Have the same urgency you would have if your armpit hair was on fire, but don't make a big show of it and do anything you'll regret. It's a fine line, Giants.

Still, this is a much better rumbling than the "Giants aren't doing jack" or "Giants interested in average players, at best" we've been getting. Now sit back and imagine David Price on the Giants.

(If you want to throw up because of nervous thoughts, imagine him against Zack Greinke in Game 2 of the NLCS. That's getting way ahead of ourselves on a few levels, but, oh, man, it's everywhere, sorry.)