ESPN has reported that the San Francisco Giants are very close to completing a deal for coveted centerfielder Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets.
The deal breaker has been discussions over Giants top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler, who the Giants are reportedly willing to part with in order to meet the Mets demands.
Wheeler was taken sixth overall by the Giants in the first round of the 2009 MLB draft and went 3-3 with a 3.99 ERA during his first year of pro ball for Augusta (short-season A).
In 2011, Wheeler has gone 7-5 for San Jose (A) while posting the same 3.99 ERA he finished with last year in Augusta.
He projects as a strikeout pitcher with a mid to upper 90's fastball and is still young and unpolished having been drafted out of high school two years ago.
While the Giants likely tried to pull off the trade without including Wheeler, General Manager Brian Sabean had to part ways with the former first rounder to get Beltran -- even if he is only a two month rental.
The likelyhood that the Giants will sign Beltran to a long-term deal is unlikely considering they are paving the way for Gary Brown (San Jose-A) to be the centerfielder of the future.
Unless Beltran wants to consider a move to a corner outfield position and a signifigant paycut in years to come, it appears he was aquired to be the bat the Giants need down the stretch to make a run at repeating in 2011.
While the price of losing Wheeler could prove to be costly, San Francisco has the rare luxury of having an abundance of young arms at both the major and minor league level -- something that could have postponed Wheelers accent to the majors in the Giants organization.
The young righthander will have a much better opportunity to break the rotation for the Mets in coming years and may even be promoted to AA this season for New York if they want to accelerate his learning curve.
Final Analysis: Beltran will certainly help the Giants offensively but giving up Wheeler was a move the Giants may regret in the future if he can master the control issues that have hurt him in the minors.
Opponents hit just .224 against Wheeler this season and he has struck out 98 batters in 88 innings pitched. Forty-seven walks has been the achilles heel for Wheeler, but learning to trust his stuff could go a long way for a guy with his talent.
It's possible the Astros or Rays would have considered trading Hunter Pence or B.J. Upton if the Giants had included Wheeler with a package of prospects, but Sabean clearly has his sights set on Beltran.
I loved Beltran when he was a five-tool player with the Royals, but since signing with the Mets it has become apparent he isn't the same player he once was after several injuries.
Personally, landing Upton or Pence and trying to sign them to long term deals would have been the route I would have taken considering current outfielders like Cody Ross, Andres Torres, Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell all are in the final years of their playing careers.
Time will tell if Sabean gets enough value out of Beltran this season to garner the price he paid with Wheeler, but considering the Giants not having a single player with double-digit homeruns going into the second half of the season it was a move that had to be done.
Grade: B
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