SEATTLE — As the Giants prepared to disperse for the much-needed All-Star break, manager Tony Vitello found himself seeking inspiration in a rather unexpected place. He turned to two seasoned individuals on his coaching team, hoping they could provide a beacon of hope for what many see as a miraculous rebound in the second half of the season.

Ron Washington, now leading the Giants as infield coach, and Jesse Chavez, who has taken on the role of bullpen coach, both carry a significant connection to the 2021 Braves. During that season, Washington served as the third base coach, while Chavez actively contributed as a relief pitcher.

Together, these two bring nearly five decades of Major League Baseball experience. Remarkably, the 2021 Braves, despite holding a losing record at the All-Star break, managed to clinch the World Series. This victory marked a rare career highlight for both Washington and Chavez, netting them each a cherished World Series ring.

“I’m not saying it’s destined to happen,” Giants pitcher Logan Webb remarked, reflecting on the strategic message conveyed to the team. “But it’s baseball, and anything is possible.” Webb’s words carry a sense of cautious optimism amid the uncertainty of the sport.

Realistically, the odds are daunting. Drawing parallels to the success of that particular Atlanta team skews towards optimism, perhaps even bordering on wishful thinking. On June 22, the Braves’ playoff potential sat at a mere 7% according to FanGraphs. In contrast, the Giants’ current playoff prospects are underwhelming at 0.6%, a stark drop from their last significant chance on May 17, when their probability was last recorded above 7%.

But there is still plenty to look forward to over this final 66-game march to the finish line.

1) The possibility of one good stretch of baseball

In retrospect, the Giants’ season was over on May 30, when they fell 14 games under .500 for the first time, at 22-36. They dug themselves a hole far too deep to climb out of.

But in more than a month since, they’ve shown flashes of the team that, on paper, president of baseball operations Buster Posey expected to contend for the playoffs. As Rafael Devers has heated up, so has the offense, while Webb and Robbie Ray have, for stretches, formed the two-headed monster a manager dreams of at the front of their starting rotation. 

Still, it resulted in only a 19-19 record over their last 38 games going into the break.

Vitello has been frank about his learning curve transitioning from college ball to the big leagues, and players have been adamant they haven’t played their best baseball yet.

Are they capable of stringing together more than three wins in a row? Sweeping a series? If they can accomplish either out of the gate for the first time this season, maybe Posey can be convinced not to tear this roster apart before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

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2) A possible haul at trade deadline

In all likelihood, Ray’s start Sunday in Seattle will be one of his last in a Giants uniform. Their only player to appear in the All-Star Game, Luis Arraez, will likely play for someone else soon, too. The Giants are one of only seven teams more than four games out of a playoff spot, potentially making Posey the “beau of the ball” this deadline season.

Despite possessing a better record last year, Posey was still an aggressive seller — only six weeks after trading for Devers — and did well for himself. The package of Parks Harber, Jesus Rodriguez and two other prospects for Camilo Doval looks like a boon, and the return for Tyler Rogers — Drew Gilbert, Blade Tidwell and Jose Butto — also brought back instant contributors.

It seems to be a foregone conclusion that the two veterans on expiring contracts will be moved, but you never know what trades will materialize as the clock winds down. The deal that sent Mike Yastrzemski to the Royals last summer, for example, only came together in the final hour.

This roster was built to win now, so there is no shortage of players who could help contenders.

The Giants, for example, would have to listen if a team came calling about Heliot Ramos or Casey Schmitt in a market starved for impact hitters from the right side. The only players considered off the table in trade talks are Webb and Bryce Eldridge.

3) Youth movement

Almost as exciting as the prospects coming back in any trade will be the opportunities created for young players already in the organization. Between Ray and Tyler Mahle, also on a one-year deal, there could soon be two open spots in the starting rotation.

In an appearance Thursday on KNBR, Posey named three pitchers whom he sees as primed to take on big-league roles: Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour and Tidwell.

It wouldn’t be crazy to see Joe Whitman, a second-round pick in 2023, or Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson, a part of the Patrick Bailey trade, get a look, either.

Any trade involving Arraez or another position player will be more about clearing logjams on the MLB roster, namely giving Schmitt a position to play every day. But Posey mentioned one outfielder in Triple-A who could be in line for a promotion: Scott Bandura, a left-handed hitter from Princeton who stole 41 bases last season; he has a .731 OPS with Sacramento.

4) Down on the farm

For all that’s gone wrong at the major league level, it’s been the opposite story at pretty much every level of the minor leagues. A farm system that not long ago was considered one of the least fertile in the sport has been revived, especially at the lower levels, with international signings such as Josuar Gonzalez, Luis Hernandez and Jhonny Level, as well as breakout seasons from recent draft picks Gavin Kilen, Dakota Jordan and Trevor Cohen.

Of the Giants’ five affiliates, three are leading their leagues. Altogether, the system has produced a .592 winning percentage, the best of any organization in baseball.

Fresh off representing the Giants at the Futures Game, Kilen and Jordan will start the second half with Double-A Richmond, and more promotions could make things even more interesting.

In theory, Level shouldn’t be far behind, which would open up the middle infield at San Jose for Gonzalez and Hernandez, who essentially hold the keys to the franchise’s future in their hands.

5) Chasing numbers

Despite the home team’s lousy record, more and more fans continue to pass through the turnstiles at Third and King. Attendance is up from last year, at 36,646 per game, and the Giants are within reach of drawing 3 million fans for the first time since 2018.

They must average 37,577 over their remaining 34 home dates to cross the threshold for the 18th time in the 27 seasons they’ve played at their waterfront ballpark.

To that end, the fans need something to get invested in in the absence of a playoff race. Schmitt and Devers going back and forth in the race to lead the team in home runs is worth watching.

With 19 apiece going into the break, both players have a chance to reach 30 — something no Giant had done since Barry Bonds before Willy Adames did so in Game 162 of last season.

During her first visit to the UK in four years, Meghan Markle reportedly experienced feelings of ‘humiliation’ and significant sadness. Her friends shared with People magazine that the Duchess remained out of the public eye throughout the trip.

According to Meghan’s close associates, she has chosen to let Prince Harry take the forefront in dealing with the ongoing family tensions, which include disputes over their accommodations at Buckingham Palace.

Although Meghan, Harry, and their children, Archie and Lilibet, had an opportunity to reconnect with King Charles, friends noted that Meghan struggled with sadness, as her initial plans to accompany Harry at various public events in the UK did not materialize.

Harry initially intended for Meghan and their young family to join him on the full five-day visit, which centered around the Invictus Games and his past charitable efforts.

However, he ended up traveling to Britain alone. Just hours before his arrival in London, new tensions arose when their invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace was unexpectedly rescinded.

Meghan delayed her arrival and entered the country secretly with Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, amid ongoing security concerns.

A friend of the couple told People magazine, widely considered the Sussexes’ preferred publication in the US, that Meghan would have felt ‘humiliated’ by the way the week unfolded. 

The drama surrounding the visit was ‘quite stressful’, a source close to the Duke and Duchess said. 

Another insider said Meghan ‘is very supportive’ of Harry, but that there was ‘a lot of sadness’ at being unable to stand alongside him publicly in London and Birmingham.

The King is said to have lost patience when Harry dithered over an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace at the start of his trip.

The Duke initially rejected the accommodation before changing his mind and attempting to accept after the deadline had passed.

Harry’s spokesman subsequently briefed the BBC that he would be staying at the Palace, only for the King’s aides to indicate that he had left it too late.

When it comes to Harry’s relationship with his family, Meghan ‘always lets him lead’, a third source told People.

‘This is not the first time it has not been plain sailing with correspondence or trying to make things work,’ the source said.

‘It all comes back to security. If that was resolved, there would be so much more certainty every time he comes – or they come.’

The week ended on a happier note with a secret family reunion involving the King and Queen Camilla at Highgrove – the first time Charles had seen his daughter-in-law and grandchildren since 2022.

But Meghan missed all of Harry’s public Invictus Games engagements, something friends say left her deeply upset.

Royal author Russell Myers told People: ‘What was billed as a big homecoming – not only for Harry but potentially for Meghan too – turned into a nightmare. It was further evidence of the fractiousness of Harry’s relationship with the institution.’

A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has been asked to comment. 

Harry is said to have been ‘buoyed’ and ‘really energised’ following his family reunion with King Charles.

The Duke of Sussex was ‘very happy’ that his wife and children joined him to spend time with his father and stepmother, Queen Camilla, at Highgrove.

Harry and his family are believed to have met the King and Queen for more than an hour.

The King is said to have been determined to see his grandchildren for the first time in four years during a week in which Harry suffered a crushing defeat in his privacy court case against the Daily Mail.

Friends of Harry claimed he was ‘buoyed, very happy and really energised’ after the meeting, which also marked the monarch’s first time meeting with Archie and Lilibet in four years.

His wife Meghan Markle, who was famously accompanied down the aisle by her father-in-law the King on their wedding day in 2018, was also present after secretly flying the family to Britain.

King Charles faced criticism in some quarters for meeting Harry and Meghan after suffering years of potshots at the Royal Family from California since Megxit, including claims of racism.

But a royal source responded that ‘blood is blood’ when asked about the decision to meet.

‘Every journey of a thousand miles begins with one footstep,’ the source added.

Harry and his family are believed to have spent around an hour at Highgrove with King Charles and Queen Camilla.

The gathering was particularly significant because it marked the first time that Meghan, Archie and Lilibet had seen the 77-year-old monarch – who is still undergoing treatment for cancer – in person since 2022.

Earlier in the day, there had been clues that something important was unfolding when Harry arrived at an engagement for the Invictus Games at the National Exhibition Centre, near Birmingham.

An observer said: ‘Harry turned up at Invictus with a massive smile plastered all over his face.’

The family reunion at Highgrove had clearly put Harry in high spirits following a week dominated by negative headlines, including a row over his security and a crushing defeat in his court case over privacy against the Daily Mail.

After the visit to Highgrove, the Duke of Sussex was all smiles as he appeared at Scotty’s Summer Festival at Maxstoke Castle in Warwickshire. 

Harry is the global ambassador for the charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers, which supports bereaved children from military families.

During the festival, Harry posed playfully with children as he took part in ‘goat yoga’, surrounded by the animals. At one point, he joked: ‘Is there health and safety? Do they bite?’, before taking his place on a mat and performing the tree pose on one leg while miming goats’ ears with his hands.

As Harry lay on his back and the goats trampled over his body, someone in the crowd quipped that his security team should step in to ‘protect the crown jewels’.

The Sussexes are believed to have been staying at the Althorp Estate in Northamptonshire – the ancestral home of Princess Diana’s family and where she is buried on a private island in the middle of a lake.

The Duke of Sussex made his first public appearance since the UK trip – again without Meghan – as he walked the red carpet for the TIME100 Sports Gala in New York City last night. 

Harry revealed he is among the millions of England fans left heartbroken by the team’s World Cup exit.

The Duke of Sussex said he was upset that the Three Lions lost to Argentina as he joined LeBron James, Lindsey Vonn, Jalen Brunson, Folarin Balogun and other sporting royalty for the glitzy event in New York. 

After arriving at the gala, Harry – who was without his wife Meghan Markle – was asked if he was sad after England lost in the World Cup semi-finals in Atlanta.

‘Of course!’ the 41-year-old told Page Six, in his first appearance since a week in the UK to promote his Invictus Games.

Harry was in New York after being named among the 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 in the ‘leaders’ category.

England threw away a 1-0 lead in the dying moments of Wednesday’s semifinal against bitter rivals Argentina in Atlanta.

The Three Lions were beaten 2-1 after Lionel Messi inspired a dramatic late comeback for the defending champions.

Harry’s older brother, Prince William, previously posted on social media that he was ‘gutted’ after Thomas Tuchel’s team fell short of a first World Cup final in six decades.

‘England, you gave it everything and we are all so proud of you,’ he wrote. ‘Thank you to everyone on and off the pitch, for an incredible tournament. 

‘The fight and belief you have shown has inspired us all… the most complete England team in a tournament,’ he continued. ‘Hold your heads high.’