Punned Out
So…um, wow.
I don’t think I’ve been as shell-shocked by a Giants’ deadline trade since the 2011 Beltran trade. This time, it’s less about who the Giants got as it is who they gave up. The prices were very high this year.
However, as much as the farm system got depleted, looking at the deals, you can see a real plan in place, especially if you include the Eduardo Nunez trade in the mix.
Let’s combine two of those trades, and look at it:
Giants get 3B Eduardo Nunez, SP Matt Moore and cash from Tampa Bay; Minnesota get AAA SP Adalberto Mejia; Tampa Bay gets 3B Matt Duffy, Low-A SS Lucius Fox, Low-A SP Michael Santos
Take some of the emotion out of it, first.
Nunez replaces Duffy at third base, which now makes more sense for the Giants giving up a young left-handed starter who seemed to be very close to being a major leaguer, despite the Giants needing starting pitching in the next couple of years.
And then the Giants get Moore, whom will be under team control though 2019 at relatively inexpensive prices.
But the Giants only have control of Nunez through the end of 2017…so they put themselves right in need of a third baseman…right about the time first round pick Christian Arroyo, a top prospect the Giants repeatedly said no to trading, will be ready.
Suddenly, this makes sense, logically. It hurts to see a fan favorite like Matt Duffy go, for sure, and I will miss him. But it helps to see a plan in place, and it’s a pretty logical plan.
Okay, let’s add in the next piece:
Giants get RP Will Smith; Brewers get AAA C Andrew Susac and High-A SP Phil Bickford
Will Smith makes perfect sense, to the point I’d predicted the Giants trading for him a couple of weeks ago. Javier Lopez has been hit and miss, although he has gotten better lately. Josh Osich has been pretty off, and is fighting fatigue. Will Smith was second among NL relievers with strikeouts being Chapman last season, has no platoon splits, and was going to be the Brewers’ closer until a freak injury. He’s not going to take over for Casilla at closer, but he’s a middle reliever with control through the 2018 season. There’s no doubt as to why the Giants got him, and that he’s a plus for the team.
Trading away Andrew Susac makes sense. He’s a catcher who was a Top 100 prospect before injuries, and has recently gotten back to healthy, but the Giants have Buster Posey and so what else are they going to do? It sucks that he grew up a Giants fan and gets traded away, but I doubt anyone has a problem with losing him, logically.
But that lends us to the high, high price in prospects.
Adalberto Mejia has been a scout’s darling, a LHP with velocity and potential plus offspeed pitches with his slider and changeup. He’s got some slurvy action with a low-side delivery, which reminds me of Bumgarner, though he doesn’t have that control. Mejia exploded on the scene in Triple-A, though he struggled more recently there. But he’s got mid-rotation potential, though some see him more of a reliever.
Phil Bickford…wow, I was not expecting him to be traded. Bickford had been exciting with his strikeout totals, especially his first performance in San Jose, but he had been living on a fastball…and it was a fastball with lower velocity than people expected. He’s got some deception to his delivery, but whether he can keep living off of it is a question. A lot of scouts seem to be souring on him lately, as much as fans love him.
Lucius Fox was an even bigger surprise, and hurts more. Sure, you look at his numbers and you see struggles in Augusta, but he’s an 18-year old in his first year as a minor leaguer. He’s got huge tools, huge potential, and is years away from being a major leaguer. Word is that the Giants will get some money back from the Rays to offset the huge bonus that Fox got. What’s not mentioned is that the Giants will still have the penalty that they incurred in signing Fox, which means no big-money international free agents this year or in the 2017 period. That still hurts.
Michael Santos feels more like a throw-in. Santos has a 2.91 ERA in Augusta after 10 starts, though he’s been on the DL since June. The 21-year old is not highly heralded, and he’s repeating the Low-A level from 2015, when he had a 3.44 ERA. He was due to be protected from the Rule 5 draft next season, and the Giants have other young intriguing arms. He won’t be one the Giants will miss.
And, of course, Duffy. I really can’t believe the Giants traded away a Major Leaguer today. It may make logical sense, but I’m going to miss that Dirtbag.
All in all, I do rate the Giants as winners on this trade deadline. They improved the Major League team, at a cost, and are clearly going for it in 2016 and laid down a foundation for some players that will be part of the team beyond. They sacrificed some big name prospects, but this is what winning teams do. At least the Giants are in for the rest of this season.
Now, if they’d start winning regularly again, that’d be awesome. That’s one part of 2011 I don’t want to revisit.
