The San Francisco Giants pulled off what has to be described as a blockbuster acquisition on Wednesday, adding former All-Star third baseman and multi-time Gold Glove winner Evan Longoria in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.
It’s a move the Giants simply needed to make after putting up a disastrous offensive performance during what was a 98-loss 2017 campaign. All said, San Francisco hit a league-low 128 homers. Longoria automatically takes over as the Giants’ most-potent power hitter, having hit 20 homers last season. For comparison’s sake, Brandon Belt led the squad with just 18 dingers in 2017.
Even then, it’s highly unlikely this trade moves the marker all too much in the National League West.
First off, San Francisco yielded former top prospect Christian Arroyo in the trade. Seen by many as a five-tool talent, his inclusion in a trade for an aging veteran that hasn’t earned an All-Star trip since 2010 is rather interesting. Someone of Arroyo’s ilk likely should have brought back a player in his prime with much more upside than Longoria.
It’s also important to note that San Francisco moved on from a player in Denard Span who was fourth on the team in homers with 12 last season. That was pretty much to make the salaries work. But again, it doesn’t move the bar all too much.
Minor league pitchers Matt Krook and Stephen Woods join Arroyo and Span in moving to Tampa in the trade. According to MLB.com, both ranked among the Giants’ top-30 prospects. This is a whole lot of capital to give up for a 32-year-old veteran that’s still owed $86 million through the 2022 season. These are deals teams attempt to get out from under.
We’re not sitting here saying that Longoria isn’t going to be an upgrade for the Giants. He’s one year removed from putting up a career-high 36 homers to go with 98 RBI. But here’s a guy that has not posted an OBP of better than .328 in any of the past four seasons. He’s struck out 100-pus times in eight of 10 MLB seasons and is clearly on the downswing. How will that translate to a pitcher-friendly ballpark in San Francisco?
This comes on the heels of the Giants sending Matt Moore to Texas in what was nothing less than a salary dump. A deal that helped enable the team to take on Longoria’s contract. But there’s also an issue with this.
Despite major struggles last season, Moore is a former All-Star who has started 30-plus games in each of the past two years. It’s that workmanlike ability that could lead to further questions for what is now a shallow starting unit in San Francisco.
More than anything, we really have to wonder just how much this moves the bar in the NL West. San Francisco was in no way competitive against the three playoff teams in that division last year. In fact, the Giants posted a combined 22-34 record against Los Angeles, Colorado and Arizona.
How does adding a sub 4.0 WAR player from each of the past four seasons help move the bar here? We’re not too sure it does.
By taking on Longoria’s salary, the Giants handcuffed themselves for the remainder of the offseason. By moving on from three top-30 prospects in a farm system that’s among the weakest in MLB, they handcuffed themselves further.
If the team was willing to make this bold move, one might think it would have been able to add a bigger difference maker. That’s our two cents.