Casey Schmitt homered twice and Trevor McDonald turned in a Quality Start and the bullpen survived a 3-run home run to hold on for a much-needed win. Key lines:
Luis Arraez 2B- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB, 2 R. BA= .318. Arraez keeps purring along. .345 over his last 7 games, .323 over his last 15. Don't forget he is on a 1-year contract. Do the Giants have a sell-high opportunity here?
Casey Schmitt DH- 4 for 5, 2 HR(8), 2 R, 3 RBI. BA= .293. Schmitt had been in a bit of a slump but broke out bigly tonight. Maybe having a day off here and there is good for him? He has been the Giants best all-around hitter up to almost the 1/3 mark of the season.
Rafael Devers 1B- 2 for 5, 2B, R. BA= .247. Devers is batting .370 over his last 7 games, .340 over his last 15.
Willy Adames SS- 3 for 5, 2B, 2 RBI. BA= .235. Adames is batting .419 over his last 7 games, .311 over his last 15.
Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 5, 2B, RBI. BA= .216. 2 of the "big three" of Devers, Adames and Chapman have come around and are finally hitting. Chapman had one solid hit today. Can he break out of his very deep slump?
Drew Gilbert LF- 2 for 5, 2B, 3B. BA= .234. With Heliot Ramos looking at an extended IL stay, Gilbert gets a chance to find some serious traction on his career. He looked good tonight with 2 XBH. Not his fault they did not figure into the scoring. Hate to say it, but to my eye Gilbert has a Lenny Dykstra vibe to him. That's a good thing from a pure baseball perspective. Not so much on a personal level.
Trevor McDonald RHP- 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, 9/0 GO/AO. ERA= 2.37. McDonald has a swagger about him on the mound. He is looking confident. The extreme groundball tendency stood him in good stead on a night when there was a lot of wind-carry to RF.
Matt Gage LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 2/1 GO/AO, Save(1). ERA= 1.40. Gage for Closer?
Adrian Houser RHP tries for a series win tomorrow afternoon facing Jeffrey Springs LHP who comes in with a 4.22 ERA. Houser has allowed 3 R in 11.2 IP over his last two starts.
Just throwing an idea out there: Casey Schmitt needs a regular position. The Giants have an opportunity to sell high on Luis Arraez who is on a one year contract. This year's draft is shaping up to be very deep in the 20-40 range. Could the Giants get another prospect and a pick if they move before the draft? Can they get a better prospect or two closer to the deadline?
Who has competitive balance pick(s) to trade who need a 2B, that are in the playoff hunt? That's the question on Arraez, right?
ReplyDeleteArraez has been one of the few Giants who have been fun to watch this year. Honestly, in full appreciation of the serious plus-value D he provides...would rather dump $60-$70 million into the sunken cost hold and dump Chapman, moving him for a lottery ticket. He has value, but wow, do not enjoy watching him play.
You could definitely sell high. Bring up Koss so he can spell Adames (he showed he needs a day off) and maybe a day off Chapman too (moving Casey if no one else has positional ability). And while you’re add it, unload a pitcher so Trevor can start. Webb, Roupp and McDonald are a nice 3
ReplyDeleteLuis Arraez is one of the main reasons I continue to watch Giants baseball. Every at bat holds something to watch. Luis also can field. I would explore a way to keep him as an SF Giant. Not sure how much dinero that would take. Find a way to dump Chapman? Casey at 3rd, Adames SS, Arraez 2B and Devers at 1st looks competitive.
ReplyDeleteAgree totally on Arraez. He is he most interesting man in baseball. The quirkiness plays, in San Francisco. I would love for them to find a way to keep him. He’s entertaining and playing at a high level. Chapman is on a 7 for 70 (or thereabouts) jag right now. Seems like he needs some time on the DL to figure out what is wrong with him. He appears to be dreading every at bat. With his no-trade class and a family who chose the Bay Area to settle into, he’s not going anywhere unless they just cut him loose, which is extremely unlikely
DeleteMorning Doc.
ReplyDeleteExcept for a little bit of comeback by the Athletics > Giants were fun to watch.
Hoping we can close today with a series win.
Gotta say I have been hoping since the summer of 2023 when Casey was called up that he would stick.
I remember one game that summer where Kruk was totally enamored over Caseys's 3rd base play and his cannon of an arm. Nice to see him having success and continue to route for him to succeed as a Giants. I sure like Luis at 2nd. If we could sign him for no more than 3 years > then I would be pleased with that. I think i am whistling in a grave yard. Chappie continues to be an enigma.
My irrational optomism is what I guess keeps me going at age 75.
Go Giants!
Richard in Winnipeg
Does selling high on Arraez mean giving up on 2026?
ReplyDeleteChapman to Yanks, sign Arraez, who rose to the challenge of improvi g his D at 2nd
ReplyDeleteDoesn't sending Eldridge back to Sacramento to work on contact provide the same opportunity for Schmitt and allow the DH to rotate and give all the infielders a day off defensively?
ReplyDeleteArraez has disproved the idea he cannot play defensively and he will get a Big contract in 2027, if there is a 2027.
Why not try to sign Arraez now to a three or four year contract at$48-64M. This guy can hit and is a much better second baseman than many had thought.
ReplyDeleteHi Doc. I agree with you about McDonald and his repertoire being more effective in the bigs than in the PCL. I’m sure Giants fans remember Brandon Webb who tormented them back in the day. Same type of sinker heavy pitcher who seemingly came out of nowhere since he didn’t distinguish himself in AAA.
ReplyDeleteI agree with moving Arraez and making room for Schmitt. I would prefer to move Chapman, but with his contract, that's not happening.
ReplyDeleteTrade Robby Ray too. He will be 35 next year and a free agent. I don't see him returning.