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Giants Deal for Pence, Can't Land Reliever

 I woke up to some good news this morning, flipping on KNBR to hear the Giants and Phillies have agreed on a deal that will bring in a much needed impact bat.

Hunter Pence Coming to Town
After seeing their offense wilt over the weekend vs. the Dodgers, it was clear the Giants needed a boost. They got just that Tuesday, sending young catching prospect Tommy Joseph, Nate Schierholtz and an minor league arm to Philly for the guy I think was the best bat in this trade market, Hunter Pence. The thing I really like about this move is it's not a half season rental. Pence will be around for 2013 and could give the Giants a good security blanket in case they can't re-sign Melky Cabrera this winter. He's going to come right in and hit in the middle of the order and should provide a huge boost to the sputtering offense. Giving up Joseph certainly isn't easy to do, but the one area the Giants are pretty deep at is catcher so that was the area of strength to deal from. With the Dodgers improving left and right (adding Brandon League and Shane Victorino), it was inevitable the Giants would try and answer for a splash of their own. I'm just glad they aren't needing to part with a slew of prospects in order to get to get it done.

Another thing I really like about this deal is Brian Sabean finally made a splash for an impact player in his 20's. It seems like every time the Giants make a deal, it's for a veteran at the end of his career, but Pence is right in his prime at 29 and could very well become a long-term fixture here. All I know, is the Giants middle of the order just got a whole lot better and it's going to be exciting to see this guy play with Panda, Buster Posey and Melky Cabrera.

At this point, I would be surprised if the Giants do make a move for a closer though. The details of the impending Pence deal, but they will be parting their best power hitting prospect, and Sabean probably isn't looking to pick over the minor league system much more. Also with Brandon League being dealt to LA, that takes one potential target off the market and just drives the price up on the others. I certainly hope are able to get another good late reliever, but I'm not holding my breath.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Excellent trade. Great Trade. Love it!

Nate was awesome for the Giants, but glad he's going to get a shot with the Phills. Pence is an impact player and hitter though. Great addition.
11:39 AM
Anonymous said…
Stupidest decision Sabean and the giants have made in a while-trading Nate. Come on, local boy the fans could relate to. Tired of the revolving door of players that I will never be able to relate to. I guess it really is a business whose sole purpose is to see how far it can get in the post season to generate as much revenue for the team. It's great when it's a bunch of guys you can relate to, not quite so sweet when it's guys that will be here for a year or less then gone.
11:52 AM
Trevor Cole said…
Nate was a fan favorite for sure. As a baseball player, he doesn't sniff Hunter Pence though.
12:01 PM
hitnrun said…
I like this trade a lot, and I have been very critical of Sabean for some time. Pence absolutely makes the lineup more potent, even if he does not hit homers every time up, this guy should give the team a shot in the arm. I also think that Sabean will swing a waiver deal for a bullpen arm, that suddenly looks vulnerable on the back end with Romo and Casilla. The giants actually should have looked into buying Scott Hairston just so he would not keep beating them.
3:08 PM
Anonymous said…
Getting ready to head up to the game tonight. Stoked to see Pence make in impact. Wish they would have gotten a reliever or a closer but I loved the Pence trade.
3:50 PM
J-Bill said…
This will be a very good trade if the Giants can sign Pence and Cabrera to extensions. I've really grown to like Melky, maybe my favorite on the team right now. They need to keep him. Pence is under contract one more year so they have some time to get him locked in but I'm hoping they can get both signed for 3-4 more years.
5:48 PM
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