Thursday, July 28, 2011

Are the Giants done making deals? Can Whitside/Stewart endure the stretch?

After finalizing the Carlos Beltran trade today the Giants have been active early in the trade market and may still have a deal or two left up their sleeve.
Just last week, San Francisco aquired infielder Jeff Keppinger from the Astros for a pair of prospects and followed it up by dealing their top pitching prospect (Zack Wheeler) in order to land Beltran from the Mets.
While the Giants have addressed two positions of need with the additions, the catcher position remains a platoon between Eli Whiteside and Chris Stewart who are both hitting below .230 and have combined for just 16 RBIs on the season.
A trade for catcher Ivan Rodriguez was discussed earlier in the year but never went through, but looking at the market for available catchers before the deadline yields a slim list.
The best option may be adding the bat of Miguel Olivo from Seattle, who has hit 14 homeruns while driving in 41 on the season for a struggling Mariners team.
He has struck out more than any Seattle player in 2011 and is hitting just .217, but Olivo's pop is a much needed upgrade that wouldn't come at a high price.
Stewart and Whitside simply aren't power threats at the plate and Olivo's homerun total would instantly be second on the Giants behind the recently aquired Beltran.
He is also a career .243 hitter and has hit as many as 23 homeruns in a season (2009 -- KC), which may hint that he may improve upon his current .217 mark.
Seattle may part with Olivo for one or two pitching prospects and the asking price can't be that high considering the Mariners are looking towards the future and Olivo is 33.
The Giants don't need Olivo long term with Posey expected to recover by next season and wouldn't have to pay too much for a huge offensive upgrade at a position that has provided little with the bat.
It's a deal that makes sense for both teams and is really the only position left to address for San Francisco before the July 31st deadline.

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