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Matt Moore used to be one of the most valuable players in baseball, a left-hander with the arm of the gods. He was signed to a team-friendly deal for years and years, and he was the future of the Tampa Bay Rays.
He’s the future of the San Francisco Giants now. Moore was acquired in a blockbuster trade at the deadline buzzer for Matt Duffy, Michael Santos, and Lucius Fox.
I really liked Matt Duffy, everyone. Let’s ... let’s just stop and have a moment of silence.
The 27-year-old Moore is under contract for the next three seasons at below-market prices, so if a team believes in the arm, this makes a lot of sense. That’s tens of millions the Giants don’t have to spend on, I don’t know, Jorge De La Rosa, which means they can apply that money to whatever needs arise in the offseason. The market for starting pitchers was a wasteland, and it’s going to be a wasteland for the entire offseason. This was the Giants’ chance to pounce.
On the other hand, Moore hasn’t been effective in a while. Since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2013, he’s made 35 starts with a 91 ERA+ and 4.43 ERA. This is a calculated risk that involves him reaching his All-Star potential again.
On the other other hand, Matt Duffy. Sweet Duffman. With a glove from Mt. Olympus and an opposite-field swing from your dreams, he was supposed to be a part of the Giants’ infield for the next five years.
Fox was a tools monster signed last year for the biggest international bonus in Giants history. The 18-year-old was expected to be an infielder at the major league level, with a chance that he would move to center field. He had a rough start to his professional career, hitting .207/.305/.277.
The right-handed Santos is a 21-year-old who has been coming on strong this season, albeit in Low-A. He was the kind of prospect I would have figured the Giants to deal at the deadline.
Matt Duffy was not the kind of player I would have figured the Giants to deal at the deadline. He was a part of the core, the unbreakable infield that would make the ‘70s Dodgers look like jerks.
[looks at Christian Arroyo]
[whispers in Tom Hanks voice]
Earn this.
The Giants have a pitcher for the rest of this season and beyond. Considering their infield depth, and the trade of Eduardo Nunez to bridge the gap until Arroyo is ready, this trade makes sense. As long as they’re right about Moore.
Boy howdy, I hope they’re right about Moore.