Dodgers' division rival already panicking with major roster shuffle to stop bleeding

While the Los Angeles Dodgers are sitting pretty atop the National League West, one of their in-state rivals is watching its chance at contending for a division title slip away.

Amid a major offensive drought, the San Francisco Giants – who currently occupy the third-place spot in the NL West – attempted to shake up their struggling roster on Wednesday with a series of moves that can only be described as panicked.

In addition to optioning infielder Christian Koss and designating first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. and catcher Sam Huff for assignment, the Giants also signed Dom Smith to a one-year Major League contract and selected the contracts of outfielder Daniel Johnson and catcher Andrew Knizner from Triple-A Sacramento.

The DFA of Wade is arguably the most surprising move in the Giants' latest roster shuffle, considering he's the Giants' primary first baseman and a fan favorite in San Francisco. But after slashing .248/.352/.415 over his first four years with the Giants, Wade saw a swift decline in his production at the plate that coincided with the club's recent offensive drought. He is batting .167/.275/.271 on the season and is currently in the midst of a 3-for-22 skid.

The Giants replace Wade with Smith, who has opted out of two minor league contracts with the New York Yankees in the past three months. Smith hit .255/.333/.448 with eight home runs over 189 plate appearances at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and the Giants will hope that he can start collecting hits for them at the big league level as soon as possible.

Dodgers' division rival already panicking with major roster shuffle to stop bleeding

After a hot start to the season that saw them win eight of their first nine games, the Giants have since dropped 14 of their past 23. The disappearance of their offense has been a glaring factor, as their hitters have posted a combined .209/.297/.306 batting line over the past two weeks. San Francisco hasn't scored more than four runs in a game since May 16 and they have been shut out or held to one run seven times in that span.

Sitting just four games back of the Dodgers in early June, by no means are the Giants completely out of the NL West race. However, Wednesday's frenzied series of moves seemed to indicate that they already think that they are. As for the Dodgers, they have one less thing to worry about now that they can simply sit back and watch the Giants press the self destruct button on their season.

More Dodgers content from Dodgers Way