Completely agreed. Are there any other rule 5 draft eligible players other than those you have mentioned (and who might be something to keep)?

The giants could also be planning to go on a rule 5 draft spree, but even then, it still doesn’t add up.

Travis Denker=Barry Bonds?

Yeah, i totally agree. The most annoying thing about the whole decision, as you alluded to, is that there just doesn’t seem to be any advantage in doing it. I can understand disagreeing with a decision & thinking the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, but there just doesn’t seem any logic at all to this move.

With regards to the Rule V eligible players, there’s three questions to ask.
1) Do we want to keep them? Well, at this stage, you say, sure, you’d like to keep a number of them, because why not?
2) Do you want them more than Denker? At this stage you start to have trouble, other than one or two, the players needing protecting are less valuable than Denker.
3) Are they likely to be selected & kept on someone’s 25 man roster all year? Even if you want to keep them, and prefer them to Denker, are they really likely to be lost in the Rule V draft?

Take EME for example. Is there really going to be a team that choses to keep him on their roster all year. I’m not discounting him as a player, but does a team really have a need on their roster for a no power, no speed, no defense player who doesn’t play at a premium position? There’s loads of players available that’d be more use to a team, such as the generic Rajai Davis type.

This was the baseball equivalent of killing a bystander in “Grand Theft Auto” just because you can.

Nice.

I’m still pissed about this. I know that there’s a good chance that Denker will never amount to anything, but I also don’t think that it’s unreasonable to expect him turn into a poor man’s Dan Uggla – something like .265/.350/.420, with pretty bad defense at 2B. Not great, but still valuable, and for a rebuilding team like the Giants, throwing this kind of players away is just silly.

Thanks, Grant. I now have the title for my first book: The Barry Bonds Years: An Epoch of Jackassery

What? Denker? I don’t even know ’er. (our last opportunity).

And to quote Seth Meyers: Oh really? Letting Travis Denker get away bothers you? Oh really? So you were fine when the Giants started the year with still-dewy low-A Brian Bocock at shortstop over perfectly-average AAA Ivan Ochoa? Oh really? And when the Giants signed Michael Tucker one day too early to specifically ensure they would be penalized a draft pick, that wasn’t as surprising? Oh really? And when Brian Sabean had allowed the organization to devolve to the point where sloths were embarrassed to be compared to the Giants, but he was still given a contract extension, that seemed fine to you? Oh really? And when Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are in the top five list of pitchers throwing the most pitches, that doesn’t bother you? Oh really? And when Jackson Williams was drafted with the 43rd overall pick in the entire 2007 amateur draft, over guys like Justin Jackson, Michael Burgess, Matt Mangini, Wes Roemer, Nick Hagadone, Mitch Canham, Jess Todd, Travis Mattair, and Nevin Griffith – you were okay with that? Oh really? Really?

I completely agree with what everyone has written so far. It’s not like the Giants have some hot shot 2B prospect waiting in the wings that could play at Fresno rather than Denker.

Bonds and Kent might have been jackasses, but even they weren’t jackasses before they became stars. Well, maybe Barry was, but he and everyone else knew what he was going to become. If it’s true Denker didn’t hustle and run out ground balls, he’s in no position to be doing something like that. I’m still very surprised and disappointed that the Giants’ exposed Denker to waivers, but TWO posts on this subject by Grant?? I doubt he’s worth it. Denker failed on two fronts. He wasn’t a gamer, (2008) and he didn’t practice The Giants’ Way. (2009)

Some sort of trade Sabean is looking for, a one for many type deal where we’d have to put another 3 or 4 people on the roster. Or we’re going to go Rule 5 draft crazy and draft people from other teams, but then I don’t know if they’d really fit on the 25 man, most of our players are going to be 25 man bound.

I feel like there’s a lot of point missing going on here.

It’s not like Travis Denker was necessarily a larval Jeff Kent. He was just a cheap, good young player. Championship teams made out of superstars and cheap, good young players. Disposing of Travis Denker is fine, but he has value and you should be able to get something in return. Disposing of him for NOTHING seems pretty stupid. Hopefully there is a plan here, but if there is, I can’t fathom it.

I think Denker has a better chance of turning into a starting second basemen than Velez does. Not that either is anything to write home about yet.

I still don’t get the Denker move at all. If you don’t like him, why not just let him hang around in Triple-A for awhile, you know, just in case?

Here’s Travis Denker’s translated major-league line from Fresno: .256/.341/.422. That’s according to Baseball Prospectus.

If you worship at the all mighty cult of batting average!

I can’t wait to go to Denker’s HoF acceptance ceremony!

(Seriously, I don’t get it either D:)

is Denker any more of a jackass (and is there a shred of proof of it?) than Velez is?