Giants Swap Pitching To Royals For Outfield Help
<< Trade Central 2011
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| The Royals' No. 1 offseason priority was to acquire more starting pitching. The Giants have plenty of pitching, but had significant holes in a lineup that generated the fewest runs in the National League. So it made sense when San Francisco traded lefthander Jonathan Sanchez and Double-A lefthander Ryan Verdugo to the Royals for center fielder Melky Cabrera. Sanchez can be dominant at his best, as he showed when he no-hit the Padres in 2009. But for most of his career he's mixed superb starts with wild ones. Sanchez went 13-9, 3.07 in 33 starts for the 2010 Giants, and while he led the NL with 6.6 hits allowed per nine innings that season, he also issued a league-leading 96 walks. Injuries limited him to 19 starts in 2011, but still he set a new personal standard for wildness by walking 5.9 batters per nine. One short year ago, the Braves didn't even tender Cabrera a contract, but he experienced a career resurgence in Kansas City. Playing center field nearly every day he batted .305/.339/.470 with 18 homers for the Royals (121 OPS+), with Baseball-Reference crediting him with the first above-average adjusted OPS figure of his career. |
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| Royals Acquire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ryan Verdugo, lhp Age: 24. Born: April 10, 1987 in Mt. Vernon, Wash. Ht.: 6-0. Wt.: 195. Bats: L. Throws: L. School: Louisiana State. Career Transactions: Selected by Giants in ninth round of 2008 draft; signed July 23, 2008.
When the Giants signed Verdugo out of Louisiana State, they knew they were getting a pitcher with average stuff but advanced pitchability. San Francisco tried Verdugo as a reliever in his first three pro seasons, which allowed his 89-90 mph fastball to sit more consistently at 92. He paired that with a plus changeup and developing slider, which convinced the Giants to move him back into the rotation in 2011, a move that produced some hiccups at Double-A. Verdugo continued to pile up strikeouts (9.2 per nine innings), but showed continued control troubles and a tendency to give up home runs. He profiles better as a lefty reliever, the role the Royals seem set on returning him to after the trade. Verdugo was not going to rank among the Giants Top 30 Prospects. |
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| Jonathan Sanchez, lhp Age: 28. Remaining Commitment: Arbitration-eligible for 2012, then eligible for free agency following the season ($4.8 million salary in 2011). Contract details courtesy of Cot's Baseball Contracts.
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| Giants Acquire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Melky Cabrera, cf Age: 27. Bats: B. Remaining Commitment: Arbitration-eligible for 2012, then eligible for free agency following the season ($1.25 million salary in 2011). Contract details courtesy of Cot's Baseball Contracts.
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<< Trade Central 2011
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