Hello and happy Monday. I hope you enjoy a rare day off from watching the best team in MLB history.
On Sunday the San Francisco Giants made a small trade, and acquired New York Mets catcher Bruce Maxwell in exchange for cash considerations. Maxwell had been playing for the Mets AAA affiliate, and, according to a report from KNBR’s Mark W. Sanchez, will head to the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Giants AA affiliate.
Or at least, a Bay Area organization. Hearing he'll likely be assigned to Double-A Richmond. https://t.co/Dv76FbhygO
— Mark W. Sanchez (@MarkWSanchez) June 6, 2021
Bay Area sports fans are likely familiar with Maxwell, whose only three years in the Major Leagues (2016-2018) came with the Oakland A’s. Maxwell hit .240/.317/.347 in 412 MLB plate appearances, and played solid defense, accruing 0.2 fWAR during that span.
The 30-year old left-handed hitter is best known for two non-baseball things, which occupy different ends of the morality spectrum. The first is being the first MLB player to peacefully protest during the national anthem, when he took a knee in 2017 following comments by Donald Trump about how NFL players should be fired for not standing during the anthem. The second is being arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which were later dropped, and later serving two years of probation for disorderly conduct.
It’s not entirely clear what the Giants primary motivation for acquiring Maxwell is. It could be that they see him as an improvement over Chadwick Tromp, or perhaps the injury that landed Curt Casali on the Injured List is worse than the team initially thought, and they want some depth so they don’t get caught in a position where they need to call up Joey Bart.
Or it simply could be that they like Maxwell (Farhan Zaidi was working in the A’s front office when Oakland drafted Maxwell in the second round of the 2012 MLB Draft), and we know that the Giants will stop at nothing to stockpile depth.
That’s worked out pretty well for them thus far.
Note: A previous version of this article had inaccurate information about Maxwell’s arrest.
Old, random MCC article for you to read
Johnny Cueto and Buster Posey should be a delightful combination (Jan 18, 2016 — Grant Brisbee)
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants have an off day today.
I hope everyone has a great day, especially my dad. Happy birthday, pops. Love you.