The trade deadline is fast approaching and rumors are swirling. I have checked MLB Trade Rumors 3 times a day for a week now to keep up to date with everything going on. It's like cat nip and it just drives me crazy to stay away.
Here is what most intrigued me looking over the site:
1. Jorge Cantu
An infielder with pop and a nice potential bat off the bench or a spot starter.
From MLBTraderumors.com
"The San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Angeles seem to be most interested renting Jorge Cantu before he hits free agency this offseason. Projecting as neither a Type A nor Type B free agent, Cantu is a salary dump the Florida must make in the next 10 days."
Not an amazing player by any means but as right handed bat that can play 3 positions on the infield and come off the bunch with some pop it makes sense. The fact that the Marlins seem to have very little leverage in the situation because they do not appear to get any compensatory picks if he leaves after this season make the deal attractive because it could come at a fairly low price.
The biggest thing that perks my interest is Cantu's ability to get hot and hit 10 homers in a month. There is not much of that in the Giants lineup right now.
2. David DeJesus
DeJesus is probably the best fit for the Giants ballpark and team. He is a good all around player who can hit for average, has good gap power and is a plus defender.
From MLBTraderumors.com
"David DeJesus doesn't make much use of the long ball, his .446 slugging percentage constitutes a powerful sidekick to his .320 batting average.DeJesus has a $6 million team option for next season so he wouldn't be a rental and has quietly put up good numbers now for several seasons. He plays a strong outfield and would be an excellent 2 or even 3 hitter in the lineup.
The Royals seem intent on dealing DeJesus, and wherever he lands, he'll make an immediate and powerful impact for his new team."
UPDATE 7/23/2010 1:45PM:
Royals beat writer Bob Dutton is reporting on Twitter that DeJesus is out for the rest of the season with a complete ligament tear in his right thumb and will be having surgey on Monday. I bet his price comes WAY down now.
Man right after I post this about he would be a good fit and a guy I would like he goes down for the rest of the year, still keep Brian Sabean away the last thing we need is another outfielder coming off of season ending surgey on the team, yes I still rememmber you Mark DeRosa.
3. Prince Fielder
From MLBTraderumors.com
"Prince Fielder looks to make the biggest improvement on any contending team that might acquire him.Prince has pop and is a decent all around player who is one of the few players in the league who is nearly guaranteed to hit 40 homers every season. He would work pretty good for an offensive starved team. There are a number of risks involved with the ageing of a player like Fielder but if the price is not too high it very well could be worth it.
This season, Fielder has knocked out 23 homers and is hitting a lower-than-usual .263 with a .506 slugging percentage."
I am still a little concerend about this deal blowing up with a contract extension attached as well but the biggest risks often come with the biggest rewards and if it brought a parade down Market Street you can count me as a happy camper.
If your on Twitter you should definitely follow the The Crazy Crabbers. If you're not you should really consider joining, lots of good stuff going on there
Obviously, Fielder would have the biggest impact on the team (no pun intended). Cantu hasn't gone yard since June 23 (a span of 22 games). I like DeJesus' batting average but he's basically another Andres Torres. Don't see why we would make room for him.
ReplyDeleteThe most glaring need I see is short stop. Both Edgar and Uribe have lost a step defensively and are not consistent at the plate. But, who is going to let go a short stop with pop! They may have to go backwards and fine a prospect they can trade for - I don't see Sabean and Boche going for that.
ReplyDeleteI don't the Giants should go after any of those guys. I think the price to acquire those guys would be too high to warrant any upgrade you would get for them. I don't think we should make a move just for the sake of making one and giving up any of our hot prospects would be foolish. Imagine if we gave up a Posey or a Bumgarner last year how stupid that would have been?
ReplyDeleteFielder would look great in a giants uniform and in the middle of their line-up. Ishikawa would be a fine back-up at first. Huff in left with Burrel as back-up. Torres in center with Rowand as back-up.
ReplyDeleteThink of the extra pop and protection in the middle of the order with Huff batting 3rd, Fielder 4th and Posey 5th. WOW!
Nix on Fielder.
ReplyDeleteWe already have one player with a serious weight problem - and Fielder is much older than Sandoval.
Cantu and deJesus are nice ORDINARY ballpayers - nothing more.
Let's not panic - the Gigantes are playing excellent ball right now and I can't see the Padres going two more months without some sort of meltdown.
@22gigantes, having another Andres Torres would be a pretty great thing. Torres has been incredibly valuable this season putting up some pretty nifty WAR numbers, according to Fangraphs he has been the 7th most valauble batter in the National League with a 3.7 wins above replacement.
ReplyDeleteDeJesus hasn't quite been that good with a 2.5 season to date but that would still put him right behind Torres and Huff on the Giants.
However this may be moot if his thumb injury turns out to be more serious then expected after running into a wall last night. He is out at least the next 3 games and is visiting a specialist. Brian Sabean must be thinking gammer after that and it makes me wonder if it will be another Freddy Sanchez from last season where he is off and on the rest of the season.
@Jeff Willis, Yes a power hitting shortstop would be really nice and that is something that every team would like.
ReplyDeleteHowever there are very few to go around and the two guys the Giants have out there are not bad at all.
They rank 8th and 10th respectivly for NL SS in wOBA w/ a minimum PA of 100. That is not something to take for granted. We have two shortstops that are league average or maybe slightly above and there isn't really another team who can say that.
When you look at value, Uribe comes in at 6th most valuable on pace for about a 3 win season. Renteria comes in at 13th and is on pace for about 1.5 wins. 1.5 to 2 wins is a average so this isn't something that will be easy to get much better in without giving up a whole lot.
There isn't a target out there to aquire, the market for shortstops is very shallow.
@Don, I agree that overpaying for any of these players is not a great idea but for the right price they would certainly make sense.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing is that many of the prospects in the farm system in AA are having down years so it may not be best to sell on them low if they really are as good as they looked in high A ball.
There is no need to panic but a nice addition could certainly help out the team.
@Anonymous and @John Warren, I like Prince Fielder but I am not sold that he is going to age well and excel into his mid 30's. That being said, he is not by any means old.
ReplyDeleteHe is 26 this season and most player have their peak seasons from 28-32 because of his body type it might be a few years earlier but even if he peaks from 26-30 he has 4 seasons as a top line power hitter.
The only other question is how he ages, is it the slow decline in the early and mid 30's or is it hitting a wall and becoming worthless?
However that question really only comes up when dealing with a contract extension as he is under contract for 1 more season after this. He could very much add some great pop and presence in the lineup.
I would agree that DeJesus would be a perfect No. 2 hitter, dropping Sanchez down to No. 8 where he belongs, but now he's injured and the Royals are asking for too much.
ReplyDeleteJorge Cantu scares me, he has power, but he also has an extremely low OBP, so I'd stay away.
I think in the end, the Giants probably don't pick up an impact hitter.