San Francisco Giants Trade to Win Now, and for the Future

The San Francisco Giants were very busy at today’s trade deadline, but they weren’t just trading for this season.

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The week leading up to Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline was mostly quiet, but the weekend saw the flame rising on the hot stove, and Monday was a furious flurry of moves. The Giants were in the middle of the action, making two trades (on top of the trade they made last week) to build on what the front office obviously thinks is a contending team.

On Monday, the Giants traded for Milwaukee Brewers’ left-handed reliever Will Smith, and beat the buzzer on the 1 PM deadline by dealing for Tampa Bay Rays’ left-handed starter Matt Moore. Eduardo Nunez, acquired last Thursday in a deal with the Minnesota Twins, completes the trio of moves the team has done leading up to the deadline.

The Giants gave up a lot to get these players. Adalberto Mejia, a left-handed pitcher that was one of the team’s top pitching prospects, was sent to Minnesota in exchange for Nunez. Top pitching prospect Phil Bickford and former top prospect, catcher Andrew Susac, were sent to Milwaukee for Smith. Last year’s Rookie of the Year runner-up and opening day third baseman Matt Duffy,19-year-old shortstop prospect Lucius Fox, and right-handed pitching prospect Michael Santos were dealt for Moore.

It’s obvious that the Giants want to win now. They think they had a team that could compete, but were just a couple pieces short. They added what they believe to be those pieces, and the team looks more well-rounded as the final stretch run begins before October.

But even with the Giants making these trades with an eye towards October in 2016, these deals can also be seen as the Giants building with an eye towards the next couple years as well. Despite dealing away Bickford, Mejia, and Fox, some very hot prospects, none of the three players the Giants traded for are rental players, players who become free agents after this season ends.

With Duffy gone to Tampa Bay, Nunez likely steps in and becomes the everyday third baseman. He has one more year of arbitration eligibility left, and though he will be due a fairly hefty pay raise from his $1.475 million salary this season, he will still come very cheap.

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Smith, who fills a big void in the bullpen with the struggles of the now-DL’ed Josh Osich and Javier Lopez (although Lopez has pitched very well of late), is under team control for another three season of arbitration eligibility. The 27-year-old can be a Giant for a long time.

Moore, a former top-10 finisher in the American League Cy Young race, has three years of club options remaining after being signed to a long-term contract by the Rays following his rookie year in 2011. In 2017, the option is worth $7 million, 2018’s is worth $9 million, and 2019’s is worth $10 million, but the figures differ based on different milestones that Moore must reach on the mound. There are also buyouts for each of the options years ($2.5 million in 2017, $1 million in 2018, and $750K in 2019).

Duffy’s trade also opens up a spot for the team’s top hitting prospect, Christian Arroyo, down the road. Arroyo is a natural shortstop that has been learning second and third base as he progresses through the minor leagues, but he was previously blocked at all three positions by Duffy, Brandon Crawford, and Joe Panik. With Duffy out of the picture, and Nunez under control for one more year, the road is open for Arroyo to take over at third base in the future. Arroyo, who is barely of legal drinking age and playing in Double-A with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, still has plenty of time to develop.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Giants Win! Plus Rumors and Injuries

Trades like this hurt the emotional side of the fandom. Duffy quickly became a fan favorite, and Susac was also popular in his own right. Bickford was last year’s top pick and a lot of people thought he would be a future anchor of the rotation. But the team is going hard after it this season, and keeping the future in mind as well. Just have to wait and see how this pans out.

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