July 31, 2012

Grade That Trade! The Hunter (Pence) Becomes the Hunted Edition

Well the Dodgers went out and got Hanley Ramirez and Shane Victorino at the trading deadline, and Giants fans were noticeably frustrated on Twitter about their team’s lack of acquisition response to their bitter rivals. Then out of nowhere, the Giants pounced on an opportunity to grab Phillies outfielder Hunter Pence.

Suddenly, just when the NL West looked like it belonged to the boys in blue, San Francisco answered with a big bat of their own to add some big punch to the middle of a lineup that had been lacking in power all season.

With Pablo Sandoval on the DL and Angel Pagan struggling, the Giants had been counting on Melky Cabrera and Buster Posey to produce runs every single day. With Pence back there, a fearsome foursome of Cabrera, Posey, Pence and Sandoval will now make for an epic run to the finish in the West between two of the biggest rivals in sports history.

That was dramatic. I digress. But seriously, let’s break this thing down:

Giants Get:

OF – Hunter Pence

Phillies Get:

OF – Nate Schierholtz

C – Tommy Joseph (Double-A

SP – Seth Rosin (Single-A)

So obviously, the Giants wanted someone with an immediate impact bat in their lineup. The starting pitching is set and there are some studs in the bullpen, though the ‘pen as a whole could use a little re-tooling. Pair all this with the fact that Schierholtz felt entitled to requesting a trade recently, and the Giants really got an all-around win in this deal.

They get one of the most consistent, talented hitters in the league today and got rid of someone who didn’t want to be there. Losing a prospect like Joseph hurts, but it will be good for them in the long run. Besides, they seem pretty set at catcher for the foreseeable future!

In Philadelphia, they continue to stockpile really good young talent. After snatching a couple good pitchers from the Dodgers earlier in the day, they come back and get Joseph and Rosin from San Francisco. Rosin has some control issues, but has a pretty high ceiling and could project as a starter or reliever. I’m sure that flexibility is an added bonus for Philly.

The prized jewel of the group is Joseph, who is one of the better power-hitting catchers in all of the Minors. His average has not been as high as the Giants hoped, but they were able to look past that for the sheer power that the kid brought to the table. Plus, he’s a good defensive catcher. In High-A last season, Joseph hit .270 with 22 homers and 95 RBI, while maintaining a .991 fielding percentage.

That’s a high quality prospect. BUT, as for the two Major Leaguers who were swapped…it isn’t even close. Schierholtz has never bee anything more than a role player in San Francisco. Sure, he started for certain stretches when he was swinging the bat well over the past few years, but that’s because the Giants had no outfield depth.

Schierholtz plays hard and has a gun of an arm, so he’ll become a fan favorite out there for the Phillies, just as he did in San Francisco. But that doesn’t mean his overall talent is even comparable to Pence.

So, as has been a theme during this frenzied trade deadline, the seller gets young and talented, the buyer gets experienced and savvy. The Phils add to a suddenly very deep minor league system, but have thrown in the towel for 2012. The Giants answer the Dodgers’ moves by adding their own impact bat.

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– Jeremy Dorn (@Jamblinman)