Sunday morning’s trade with the Chicago White Sox for Luis Basabe might get the Giants a nice piece for a future outfield. Or it might not.
The front office adds another lottery ticket, but regardless of how it works, the trade represented a bit of a landmark moment in the Farhan Zaidi regime. With the addition of Basabe and Jordan Humphreys, acquired from the New York Mets last Sunday, to the top 30 of MLB Pipeline, the Giants have now acquired a list that is full for the first half full of players since Zaidi in took over November 2018.
Zaidi’s biggest task when he was hired was to kickstart the game development engine, to mimic what made the Dodgers so successful in the NL West, and he went straight to work filling in gaps.
There is only so much you can do when it comes to getting talent. Zaidi and new scout director Michael Holmes have just had two designs to work with and this year the coronavirus’s international signing period was reversed. While many fans wanted Zaidi to trade Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith last year, neither Hunter Bishop nor Heliot Ramos-type would have returned.
But the Giants now have a top 10 farm system as they have greatly improved their depth. Basabe, for example, finished 11th in the Chicago rankings, but came in at no. 18 when he transitioned to the Giants’ roster. Humphreys was 14th with the Mets, but is 26th with the Giants.
The 15 additions have come from traditional ways, but also creatively, which is what ownership took into account when a new front office was introduced. Here is a breakdown:
Design
Hunter Bishop (4th), Patrick Bailey (6), Kyle Harrison (12), Nick Swiney (15), Logan Wyatt (20), Casey Schmitt (23), Grant McCray (29), Jimmy Glowenke (30).
The accounting there: Three players from the concept of 2019 and five of 2020. Bishop, generally taken 10th in 2019, is the highest ranking added under Zaidi.
Trading deadline
Jaylin Davis (13), Tristan Beck (19), Kai-Wei Teng (22)
This list does not even include Mauricio Dubon, who came over in the Drew Pomeranz deal and has since played long enough that he is no longer eligible for prospect rankings.
The jury is still out on Davis, so let’s focus on the other two here. It would have been enough just to go out under the last year of Mark Melancon’s deal last July, but the Braves threw in two pitchers, including Beck, a high right-hander who had a 2.27 ERA after the trade and well in the Fall League. The former Stanford star could be in the mix for a spin pot next season.
In exchange for Sam Dyson, who came up terribly for the Twins and then had shoulder surgery, the Giants got Davis, right-handers Prelander Berroa and Teng, who has really interesting less league numbers. He allowed only one homer in 122 1/3 pro-innings and had 135 strikeouts and a low walking speed. The 21-year-old was in Low-A last year, but scouts think he may be a rotation option in the future.
[BALK TALK: Listen to the latest episode]
International signing
Aeverson Arteaga (21)
Bobby Evans and the previous regime earned a ton of credit for getting Marco Luciano, Alexander Canario, Luis Toribio and Luis Matos into the system. If someone like Luciano had arrived two or three years earlier, perhaps no jobs would have been lost.
Zaidi’s regime has had just one international signing period, as this year was moved to next January. But last year, the Giants spent $ 1 million on Arteaga, a Venezuelan shortstop that ends March 18. MLB Pipeline says he has the speed and instincts to stay on shortstop and “an easy right-hand swing.”
Use their cash
Will Wilson (11)
When the Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman and Zaidi from the Rays and As, respectively, the goal was to combine small ingenuity with deep pockets. The Giants are trying to do the same thing.
The Wilson trade is the most creative move yet by Zaidi and new GM Scott Harris. With the Los Angeles Angels looking to take a splash in free agency, the Giants took the $ 12.67 million from Zack Cozart with Wilson, a 2019 first-round pick, added as the sweetener. Wilson looked good during the summer camp and manager Gabe Kapler recently noticed that he has been a standout in Sacramento.
“Really strong reports about Will Wilson and his ability to play all three positions on infield: second base, shortstop and third base,” Kapler said. “He drives the ball to all parts of the field.”
The only downside to this deal was that the Giants cut Cozart so early that he had his full salary even in a prated season, which was surprising given that he was the highest paid Giant this year.
[RELATED: Zaidi flexes creative muscle in two Giants trades in a week]
Minor trades
Basabe (18), Humphreys (26)
Humphreys, 24, came on for Billy Hamilton, who was added as a non-roster invitee a few days before spring training began. Hamilton never played for the Giants and was never even on the 40-man but stashing that paid inventory.
Basabe just cost the Giants some cash and a roster spot, which they opened by putting Humphreys on the restricted list because of a family problem. Trevor Gott was also acquired at one point for cash considerations, and a year and a half later he is closer to the team.
Kapler said the report he received about the 23-year-old Basabe is that he is “thrown up”, has good arm strength and speed and has a solid ceiling.
“I think this makes Farhan and Scott so good at what they do,” Kapler said. “To bring in a man who immediately slips into our top prospect list without giving back too much.”
