I'm not sure the best way to handle this deadline. The Giants are going to be looking for a second baseman, an outfielder, and possibly a reliever, and there are going to be a squillion rumors. Some of them won't make sense.
Like this one!
rios market includes mariners, giants, royals, indians reds. http://t.co/oPvi50AVQx
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 31, 2014
This site was built on Alex Rios rumors. Cat pictures, Lance Niekro jokes, and Alex Rios rumors. They were bad back then. Rios was a mythical young five-tool player, which the Giants were incapable of developing themselves. They would have taken one tool, even if it was a sharpened toothbrush handle repurposed to help a monkey get ants. All it was going to cost was Tim Lincecum ...
That was then. Rios is a two-tool player right now, and the power tool was left out in the rain. Rios is hitting .300 for the third time in his career, but he's doing it in Texas. I promise, I won't do this with every prospective trade target, but if you attempt to adjust Rios's numbers for AT&T Park, you get a much better idea of what the Giants would be getting.
That's ... a player, alright. He doesn't field so well, so it's not a great player. Might not even be a good one. As a fourth outfielder, he'd be dandy. As a starting outfielder, he's as meh as Morse. As a player who would cost shiny prospects, forget about it. Don't get caught up in the average. One, because it's 2014, and batting average is so gauche. Two, because stats in Texas mean a much different thing than stats in San Francisco.
Bad rumor! Bad!
Edit: COME ON. SECOND BASE, YOU DINGUSES. GET A SECOND BASEMAN.
Source: Giants, Rangers in midst of ongoing trade conversations involving Alex Rios.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 31, 2014