We woke up this morning thinking about Asdrubal Cabrera. We spent the afternoon thinking about Dan Uggla. No one should have to go through that.
Cabrera was on our minds because the Giants are/were reportedly interested in him and fellow Indians infielder Mike Aviles. Cabrera is having another down year, he's scheduled to be a free agent, and the Indians have one of the best shortstop prospects in the minors. Even though the Indians are still in various races, they might want to get something more than a draft pick for him.
Alas, the Giants signed Uggla. Shut it down, everyone.
Except, I can guarantee you that's not what they're thinking. I don't have "sources" and I haven't done any "reporting" and this isn't "journalism", but even if Uggla hits 10 home runs over the next 10 days, the Giants are still going to pursue bigger names, like Ben Zobrist, Daniel Murphy, and Martin Prado. Uggla is the why-not in a glass case, sitting there if the Rays, Mets, and Diamondbacks don't like what the Giants have to offer.
I'm still not a fan of the why-not idea because of the limited upside, but I've been reading a lot of tweets suggesting this is the big second base move for the Giants at the deadline, and those people are very, very upset. Don't be upset at that. Be upset because Uggla is exceptionally unlikely to help the GIants win baseball games when he plays. Which he will. Often.
As to the Asdrubal rumor, I'm not sure if I buy the Indians' willingness to deal unless they fall out of the race, but I like the player. He's a switch-hitter who plays a fantastic second base (and fair-to-good short, depending on the metrics you prefer), and he's a rental who isn't having an exceptional season, so I wouldn't expect him to cost an arm and a Crick. Joaquin Arias was traded for Alex Rodriguez, you know. Maybe he has the same value now ...
Speaking of Arias, Aviles is pretty lousy these days, and even though he's versatile and a good defender, he's a pretty easy pass.
Cabrera, though. That's interesting, and probably allows the Giants to keep most of their best prospects. This is a good rumor. The one that has the Giants actually signing Uggla? Pretty unrealistic, in my opinion. Unrealistic and bad. It's probably safe to forget it was reported and assume it was just a rumor.