Giants acquire 2B Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates for RHP Tim Alderson
The price was quite a bit higher than expected, though I think Alderson's rep is a bit overblown. The Pirates still did far better here than the Diamondbacks did in the Felipe Lopez trade.
Sanchez fills a big need for the Giants, who had tried Emmanuel Burriss, Kevin Frandsen, Matt Downs, Juan Uribe and Eugenio Velez at second base. He doesn't offer a whole lot besides the .300 average, but he's a nice No. 2 hitter and a steady defender. I don't like the idea of paying him $8.1 million next year, but that's what he'll earn if his vesting option kicks in with 600 plate appearances. He's at 382 right now, so he's on pace to top that total.
The Giants should be looking at a lineup of:
RF Randy Winn
2B Sanchez
3B Pablo Sandoval
C Bengie Molina
CF Aaron Rowand
1B Ryan Garko/Travis Ishikawa
SS Edgar Renteria
LF Nate Schierholtz
Fred Lewis, Andres Torres and Velez will keep helping out in the outfield with Rowand and Schierholtz hurt.
It's the still the weakest lineup of any NL contender, but there are no longer any major holes.
In Alderson, the Pirates are getting a 20-year-old right-hander who was 6-1 with a 3.47 ERA in 13 starts since moving up to Double-A Connecticut. For the year, he's allowed 107 hits, walked 17 and struck out 66 in 98 2/3 innings. He has a strikeout curve that he'll probably use more in the majors. His fastball is just average for a right-hander, and his changeup needs work. That the Giants have had him focusing on the change more frequently has taken a toll on his numbers this year, but could pay off in the end. He should debut sometime next summer. My guess is that he'll be a No. 4 starter, but he could turn into something more with an improved change.
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I think if you are Pirate fan you can finally think they are headed in the right direction. They get rid of three players today who were obviously not in their plans for the future, and got a very good group of prospects in return. Add in the Laroche trade and it looks even better.
Couldn't agree more. They're making the right kind of deals. They join Seattle as my teams to watch out for - they're both building the right kind of teams all of a sudden.
A #4 hitter with a .274 OBP. Scary.
Dumb Brian Sabean. He already had 90% of Freddy Sanchez in the person of Kevin Frandsen and didn't know it.
How long does it take to rebuild a team? Pittsburgh is going on their 17th year right now. What futility! How can they consistently field half their lineup with minor league players and charge major league prices to the fans? Either the franchise gets "serious" or gets out of the baseball business. They seem to be content to provide a below average product to the fans, with no commitment to be in contention ever again. This is a shame and a farce and I hope the fans finally recognize that and get on to supporting the Steelers and Penguins since those two are committed to winning.