If there were any lingering doubts about whether Buster Posey was in sell mode, he dropped the hammer on those just minutes before the 3 PM PDT deadline by trading Camilo Doval RHP and Mike Yastrzemski OF for prospects. This feels a bit like sifting through the smoldering aftermath of a train wreck but let's break it down:
Trade #1: Giants trade Camilo Doval RHP to the Yankees for four prospects: Jesus Rodriguez C/3B, Trystan Vrieling RHP, Parks Harber 1B/3B and Carlos De La Rosa LHP.
We all know about Doval, his elite talent and struggles with command, holding runners on base, the pitch clock and general body language. What raises some eyebrows here is while he is arbitration eligible, he is not eligible for free agency for 2 more seasons. Buster either felt he had an offer from the Yankees he couldn't refuse or he gave up on Doval ever fully harnessing his talent. Here's a breakdown of the players coming to the Giants:
Jesus Rodriguez C/3B. DOB: 4/23/2002. B-R, T-R. 5' 10", 208 lbs. On 40-man MLB roster with 3 options.
2025(AAA): .300/.390/.404, 14 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 17 SB, 12.2 BB%, 15.6 K%, 392 PA.
Fits the Buster contact profile to a T and with surprising SB numbers for a C/3B. Limited power numbers but Fangraphs rates his raw power as a 50. Assigned to AAA Sacramento but would not be at all surprised to see him get a look at the MLB level before the season is done since there is no downside in terms of options. I am intrigued by the hit tool here as catchers who can hit at all at the MLB level are scarce as hen's teeth which may be what Buster is looking at too.
Trystan Vrieling RHP. DOB: 10/2/2000. 6' 4", 200 lbs. Drafted in 2022 Round 3 out of college. Rule 5 eligible in Dec 2025.
Carlos De La Rosa LHP. DOB: 11/30/2007. 5' 11", 178 lbs. Rule 5 eligible Dec. 2029.
2025(DSL): 0-1, 5.32, 22 IP, 14.73 K/9, 2.05 BB/9.
Add his name to the Giants growing stable of promising young international pitching prospects. And yes, you remembered right. They already have a Jose De La Rosa RHP and a Luis De La Torre LHP so stay on your toes with these prospect names. Some analysts think Carlos De La Rosa has the highest ceiling of the 4 returning prospects in the trade but with the obvious risk of the age and league. I saw one note on social media that his FB is up to 96 MPH.
Overall the return is more quantity that quality for a Closer-capable pitcher with 2 years of control remaining on his contract but maybe Doval's well-known warts finally became too much for Buster and maybe Buster felt this was the best value he was ever going to get for him.
Trade #2: Giants trade Mike Yastrzemski OF to the Royals for Yunior Marte RHP.
First off, this is not the Yunior Marte we all fondly remember from the 2022 season. That Yunior Marte is 30 years old and pitching in Japan this season. This Yunior Marte is 6' 5" and 21 years old. Again we all know Mike Yastrzemski aka Yaz the Younger(YtY). He is a microcosm of Farhan Zaidi's tenure as POBO: Obtained in a trade off the Orioles scrap heap and given a chance in The Churn. Minutes away from being Churned out, he stayed on the MLB roster due to another player's injury and made the most of the opportunity. His best season was the pandemic-shortened 2020 when he hit .297/.400/.568 with 10 HR. He had some great moments including several memorable walk-off HR's but also became increasingly prone to looonnng batting slumps including the particularly brutal current one. He is eligible for free agency at the end of this season and it was hard to see him coming back next season.
Yunior Marte RHP. DOB: 9/8/2003. 6' 5", 210 lbs. Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2026.
2025(A): 3-5, 2.74, 82 IP, 8.67 K/9, 2.20 BB/9.
Disappointed on the return for Doval. I would not have pulled the trigger on that package and tried again in the offseason or later. It just seemed like they were itching to trade him for some reason.
ReplyDelete- fan
Rodriguez and De La Rosa may have more value than most analysts are giving credit for but I agree Doval is not that easy to replace for next season.
DeleteGood return on Rogers..abysmall return on the big trade chip DOVAL..An All Star closer under control for flotsum and jetsum...seems liek a trade for trade sake and throwing darts at the Yankee prospect board....No problem with dealing DOVAL but the execution was horrenodus..The blame probably lays with GMZM who is having as bad a year as Posey and the Giants..Nobody wanted FLORES??? I guess i can understand not just dumping verlnder becasue the Giants have no kids really ready.... Tank for the best draft pick possible..
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
When was Doval an All-Star? Oh yeah, that was 2023. I agree that Doval is not going to be that easy to replace next season but realistically he has a lot of warts that other GM/POBO's know all about. I also think Rodriguez and De La Rosa may be under-the-radar gems who make this trade look good when all is said and done.
DeleteThe problem with Doval is: do you trust him to close?
DeleteNo.
Do you want him to be the set up?
Maybe, but does he want that?
He's talented but complicated, very much Forrest Gump: Life is like a box of chocolates.
You never know what you're going to get until you bite into it.
Not what Buster wants!
Several things to keep in mind regarding Yaz and Rogers. Each are 34 this year. The wheels already appear to have fallen off Yaz. And Rogers is currently pitching on borrowed time. He probably has two, maybe three good years left in him, tops.
ReplyDeletePer Doval, it's good to get him out of the way now. Perhaps they can spend the rest of this season looking for a legit closer in the organization. Ditto a starting pitcher.
Yaz: bWAR 2.0, fWAR 1.1
DeleteLee: bWAR 1.1, fWAR 1.3
Ramos: bWAR 1.1, fWAR 1.1
If the wheels are coming off Yaz, what's that say about Lee and Ramos?
Rodgers...a reliever with 2-3 good years? That's an eternity for relievers outside of Elite-level guys. And I'm not sure of the mechanics of a submariner, but I don't think the delivery puts as much strain on the arm and shoulder as the traditional overhand delivery. (Doc, not that you're a kinesiologist, but am I on the right path there?)
Again, I'm not a fan of Yaz's. But this fanbase seems to really undervalue him. Ultimately, I'm glad they've been traded, I wish them well, and in the long run it's a good move. And I hope I'm monumentally wrong about the talents of McCray & Matos.
Come on, Mojo! I know you know better that to post those kinds of non-comparable, non-sequitor WAR numbers. Yaz is 34 years old, in a brutal, brutal slump and a free agent in 2 months. Lee is really in his first year in a new, more competitive league. Historically players from Korea need a year of adjustment. We'll see if that is the case with Lee next season. Ramos might be the best hitter on a team that struggles mightily to score any runs at all. He's struggling with the mental side of the game. Maybe now that the pressure is off for a big turnaround he'll be less anxious and stop trying to do too much.
Delete2-3 good years for Rogers? He's a free agent at the end of this season for crying out loud!
Yaz has had his great moments and might be the best at fundamentals on the team but he is prone to increasingly frequent, longer and deeper slumps. He's also a free agent at the end of this season and this team was not going anywhere this year with or without him.
All I'm saying is when it comes down to it...to WAR...which is more or less is intended to provide a comparable number that measures MLB player value in terms of team wins (above R), Yaz has been at least as valuable as our other two, more popular outfielders this year.
DeleteAgain, I support the trades...let the kids play.
(Interesting Tibbs to LA...wow, 2 orgs give up on the guy within a year of him getting drafted. Bums better not fix him!)
All I'm saying is the story is more complex than throwing up WAR totals. And there are a whole lot of fans down(fairly) on Heliot because of his mental mistakes and if he doesn't figure out how to cut those out, the Giants might have to move on from him too. And Hooligans aside, I am pretty sure there is a big swath of the fanbase disappointed in Jung Hoo Lee. And if he doesn't make the adjustment to MLB by this time next season the Giants may need to move him to more of a bench role. I am encouraged that Lee seems to have used the All-Star Break to figure out he's not a power hitter, especially in Oracle Park and needs to use the whole field instead of pulling everything.
DeleteOne underappreciated thing about Yaz was his defense of Oracle's RF. It's a really tough field to play with all the angles, and Yaz played it well (just watch some visiting defenders flounder with balls off the wall). I'm ok with trading him away due to the lack of offense, but the defense wont be so easy to replace.
DeleteI read somewhere (maybe Buster said it during his press conference) that they offered Doval and extension but he turned ‘em down. Does that make sense since he has two years left before reaching free agency?
ReplyDeleteI have not read or heard that.
DeleteI have no problem with the Giants actually deciding to sell. I guess the deal i like the most is the Yaz trade , not because I didn't like him as a player, but it creates more playing time for young outfielders like Matos, McCray, etc. Who knows maybe they'll find a couple of gems from the prospect haul they acquired. I'll give Buster credit for what. must have been a tough decision to sell. Its better then lat year when I was confused listening to the previous PBO try to explain their trade deadline.
ReplyDeleteI agree regarding Buster's decisiveness.
DeleteTwo thoughts:
ReplyDelete1-While the Giants did not gain anything for this season, they did clear the way for Luis Matos to get some ABs. The lineup is pretty much intact, if Devers starts hitting…..(see Adames’ slow start as Jason Werth’s first year as a National). It took Werth a full year to get on track.
2). On the other hand, hope is not a strategy. We will see how things play out next year.
Agree. Matos, McCray, Luciano: The Giants need to use the next two months to figure out which of those 3, if any, is their RF for next season.
DeleteIf it's Luciano, he would probably have to play LF with Ramos moving to RF which would be an adventure.
DeleteI would DFA Wilmer and slide Ramos to DH and have Matos in LF and McCray in RF
ReplyDeleteOn the margin, Flores may deliver more (1 WAR?) than a replacement, but is that what the Giants want to finish this season — an extra win?
DeleteOr do they want to look at 2026? Given most likely they won't re-sign Flores, why not look at the box of chocolates?
(Another Forrest Gump reference.)