Carlos Beltran and outfield depth

Published by on July 24, 2011 | 11 Responses

The trading deadline for major league baseball, according to this site, is next Sunday on July 31st. At this point, the Giants seem sure to do something besides trading for Jeff Keppinger. As we’ve already covered, Keppinger is a nice fill-in for second base, but the Giants need offense, and despite a nice batting average, Keppinger isn’t going to be providing the type of offense the Giants need. Though, I did find it funny/sad/humorous/sad-again that he was batting 5th yesterday.

The shiniest prize on the trading market is (still) Carlos Beltran. Entering today, Beltran owns a batting line of .291/.393/.520 which is phenomenal for any year, really phenomenal in a down year for offense.  By the park-adjusted stats like OPS+ or wRC+, Beltran is right around 55% better than league average as a batter. That’s downright great.

The Giants-Mets connection seems to be heating up. Jeff Passan tweeted earlier today:

Giants remain favorites in Beltran sweepstakes, with Texas coming hard. One name I'm hearing: Francisco Peguero, a CF in Double-A for SF.
July 24, 2011 11:12 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite
@JeffPassan
Jeff Passan

Indeed, the Giants shouldn’t be afraid to trade prospects for an upgrade — which Beltran certainly is, but with how the team is currently built, upgrading the outfield isn’t a slam dunk like an upgrade at SS or C would be. The Giants have a collection of pretty decent outfielders this season. By wRC+, the Giants’ outfielders: Nate Schierholtz (116), Pat Burrell (113), Cody Ross (111), Andres Torres (100), and Aaron Rowand (75). You could probably include Brandon Belt (87) in there, too.  Nate’s development this year has been a big treat. Burrell is more of a pinch-hitter right now, but the point stands — the Giants are getting league average(ish) production from their outfielders. And, despite Aaron Rowand, it’s a been a pretty good group for the Giants this year.

So, while Beltran is a definite upgrade for the team, it might not be as big of an upgrade at first glance. Fixing the holes at SS and C should still remain a priority and it’s one that will probably cost less to fix while providing the same gains.

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Robert Haymond
Robert Haymond

Curtis: Excellent post but on one item I am in disagreement. the Giants will be able to pay large, very large, salaries. They are a very wealthy team resistant to cutting into profits to pay high profile ballplayers.

Curtis
Curtis

They don't need a slightly below average hitter replacing a below average hitter. There are no catchers or SS available to fill the void the Giants have. They NEED a legit hitter that can mash. They don't need a new number 7 or 8 hitter. They need the big 3 run homer, the bases clearing double, or the scary presence on deck when Halladay is facing Sandoval in Game 5 of the NLCS. THAT'S the scenario they should be trading for. Beltran is the guy. Ross is really bad versus righties, Torres is unplayable versus lefties... it's the perfect fit, and a HUGE upgrade in the 4 hole, where it matters most. World Series opportunities don't come around too often. Right now they have great players for cheap that will soon demand big raises they won't be able to pay, now is their time to win.

Dflav
Dflav

Amen brother

giantsrainman
giantsrainman

Sabean has been quoted as saying right now there are no SS or C available that he considers an upgrade over what the Giants currently have. So, just who do you think is available that will be an upgrade and what price do you think it will take to get them?

Chris Quick
Chris Quick

Well, that's the point: it shouldn't be too hard to upgrade over what the Giants have right now, since the bar is so low. I think catcher is a bigger position to fill than short. The Fontenot/Crawford/Keppinger give the Giants some options. Even if they are pretty bleh. When Sabean is in trade mode, it's hard to take anything he says seriously, but for catchers I like Torrealba, Ronny Paulino, or maybe roll the dice on an injured guy like Ryan Doumit. Maybe Chris Ianetta, though it's hard to see the Rockies trading within the division. Catchers on teams that are way out of it ranked by OPS+ Geovany Soto, 284 PA, 99 OPS+ Matt Treanor, 215 PA, 91 OPS+ Branyan Pena, 172 PA, 87 OPS+ Miguel Olivio, 319 PA, 84 OPS+ Kurt Suzuki, 326 PA, 75 OPS+ Soto would be a good get, though I would imagine he would be pricey. Not saying any of these guys are trade bait, but there has to be something out there, somewhere. Eli Whiteside has actually come around some lately (99 OPS+) but I'm not sure the Giants want to run with him as a starter over the rest of the year.

Mikey
Mikey

No objection to Beltran for Peugero, but bigger impact from trading for a catcher. But who can be had? Ianetta? David Ross? If the Giants sweetened the Beltran deal a bit, could they pry Paulino from the Mets?

Curtis
Curtis

I would do the Peugero trade yesterday. Peugero is yet another right handed free swinger with no power and no ability to take a pitch. The Giants already have plenty of guys like that. Peugero is already 23 years old (at the very least, probably more like 24,25), I can't see him ever becoming anything of value. A .751 career minor league OPS at low level ball does not bode well. I don't see "raw" being a compliment when a hitter is at least 23, and realistically more like 24 or 25, with 5 plus minor league seasons under their belt.

Chris Quick
Chris Quick

I think it's hard to judge Peugero on what he's doing right now. He's one of those guys you have to dream on a little to see what he could become. Scouts have always been in love with his tools and by most reports I've read, he's a very good baserunner and defender. I think there is a lot to like about Peguero. He's probably in my top five prospect ranking right now. Definitely in the top ten.

Rory
Rory

I placed him sixth in my recent top-15 (Hembree at 9, in light of my recent post).

Chris Quick
Chris Quick

Oh, and I'm a pretty big fan of Peugero. I'd hate to see him go in a Beltran trade. He's a really raw, and TOOLSY prospect, but I think he's going to be good eventually.