The Giants have been awarded claims on both Aaron Heilman (Cubs; ex-Met) and Trevor Hoffman (Brewers; ex-'Dres and Bochy buddy) according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Regarding Hoffman, the more interesting name, Buster Olney thinks that the Brewers will hold onto him, just because Melvin said "probably not" about compromising the club's bullpen this season. Probably not means more like "...unless we get a good offer..." to me.
Heilman isn't a done deal either, and according to the news, the Giants had not contacted the Cubs yet.
Giants Thoughts
I don't see the Giants negotiating for Heilman. 4.55 ERA with 31 walks in 57.1 IP, I only see this as a move just to keep him out of the hands of the teams ahead of them, plus if the Cubs decide to give him up for nothing, they could always use another experienced hand in the bullpen.
I would also note that he was either unlucky in Wrigley or just don't pitch well there, his ERA away this season was 3.60, 30 IP, 28 hits, 17 BB, 33 SO, not good but OK for a reliever. That is more in line with his career numbers - remember, a reliever's number bounce around much more easier because of the small sampling problem and thus he could even be a good acquisition if that road number represents his talent level better than his home numbers.
I can see the Giants negotiating to get Hoffman. He would probably be annointed co-closer with Wilson and any team would be better off with him in the bullpen, not just the Giants. The Giants could offer someone young and developed (AA and above) and it would be a better return than the two picks they would get for Hoffman as a free agent, perhaps a nice reliever. I think Bochy loving having him probably is a strong factor too.
Lastly, I note the trade of Scott Kazmir to the Angels for two prospects with a tinge of regret. Of course, the Angels have a higher claim on Kazmir, so the Giants couldn't have claimed him, but I can't believe that the Rays would have wanted much more for him than what they got from the Angels, so, to me, it looks like the Giants could have traded for Kazmir before the trade deadline for a package of Tim Alderson and Scott Barnes, as I think they are equivalent if not better than the package of Matt Sweeney and Alexander Torres. Kazmir, according to the report on MLB Trade Rumors, only has $23.5M left for the rest of this season plus the next two seasons. Can you imagine if we had a rotation of Lincecum, Kazmir, Cain, Zito, and Sanchez? Sick! Particularly after that 8 run bashing of Joe Martinez yesterday.
Just missed this news: Joe Martinez optioned to Fresno and Alex Hinshaw called up. Giant probably won't use 5th starter until Sept 5 in Milwaukee. Plus, the Giants have interest in signing Brad Penny, recently released by the Red Sox. Bumgarner will not be brought up, in any case.
ReplyDeletePlus Sandoval is in the lineup and Molina is close.
Courtesy of Henry Schulman in his Splash blog: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/detail?blogid=22&entry_id=46466
Sigh... what I really wanted was for the Yankees to finish third. Looks like the Rays have (reasonably) given up on this year.
ReplyDeleteKazmir hasn't been the same pitcher. I think he might be hurt or worn down and the Rays are just dealing him while they know they can. His velocity is down and so is his K rate.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, the team was lucky to win last night. 9 runners left on base, 5 times they made out with RISP and 2 outs. That doesn't even illustrate the real problem. A couple time they had runners on third with 1 out and couldn't manage to score them. In Bochy's defense, he did attempt a suicide squeeze but Whiteside popped up and Uribe got doubled up.