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There are confusing transactions, and then there’s this one. The Giants have six games left. It’s not ideal that Eduardo Nuñez is dinged up and unlikely to contribute to them, but we’re talking about six games. Ehire Adrianza, Conor Gillaspie, and Kelby Tomlinson are still on the roster. There isn’t a great option to replace Nuñez, but any of them should be fine for six games.
Hearing from league source the #sfgiants are very close to acquiring #braves infielder Gordon Beckham. If so, must be to replace Nuñez.
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) September 27, 2016
Huh. That’s the only possible way to respond. Beckham wouldn’t be eligible for a postseason roster, so huh.
Huh.
Beckham isn’t very good, for one. His .655 OPS (76 OPS+) is bad even by Giants bench standards, and he’s not anything more than an average fielder, at best. There’s a reason why no one tried to recreate the 2013 White Sox piece by piece before this.
As generic depth for six games? Okay, fine. Maybe there’s something we don’t know about Gillaspie, Tomlinson, or Adrianza, if not all three. But if you’re going to go to the trouble to make a 40-man roster move, why not give the gig to someone already in the system? Grant Green, for example.
Dunno. The trade itself isn’t going to hurt, as it’s likely just for cash, but the Giants either have to designate someone for assignment or place someone on the 60-day DL to make room on the roster. If it’s the former, that seems absurd, regardless of the career prospects of the player exposed to waivers. That risk, any risk at all, can’t be worth six games.
If it’s the latter, well, huh.
Huh.
There’s a chance that the Giants make the postseason on the last day of the season, and that Beckham is the one who hits a grand slam to get them there, so don’t equate "ineligible for the postseason roster" with "exempt from even-year shenanigans." There’s a chance we’ll say more than "huh" before the end of the season.
Until then, well ...
Huh.
Edit: Huh.
Beckham and Sanchez will be here tonight. Reynolds DFAd. Williamson (quad) to 60-day DL.
— Alex Pavlovic (@AlexPavlovic) September 27, 2016
And here you thought the Giants didn't have a first-round pick this summer. Now they add two top-10 draft picks in the same afternoon! From several years ago, but still.
That would be Tony Sanchez, former Pirates prospect, joining Gordon Beckham on the 25-man roster. It was always a longshot for Reynolds to leapfrog Josh Osich and Steven Okert on the left-handed depth chart, and the Giants did give him a couple chances to prove he deserved to. Williamson on the 60-day DL makes the Giants worse for the rest of the season, considering he was one of the five-best outfielders in the organization.
Still, the cost of six days of Gordon Beckham is Matt Reynolds and whatever cash the Giants gave up. Unless there's an injury we don't know about -- several of them, perhaps -- this is still a bizarre move.