Hunter Pence Traded to Giants

[splitterpfj]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/07/giants-acquire-hunter-pence.html

[RockCoCougars]

The Phillies are desperately trying to shed salary by any means possible. They have went on a drunken spending spree, and just woke up with a hangover and the credit card bills. Is it just me, or does the future look very bleak for the Phillies? They are stuck with several aging contract albatrosses on that roster.

 

This looks to be a pretty blah return on a guy like Pence. If this is all Hart would bring, I'll keep him, thank you very much.

[gregmag]

The minor leaguers they got back appear to have some value, although I haven't seen scouting reports. Schierholtz, of course, is just a guy, presumably included because the Phillies need somebody to play in their outfield. But Joseph is a 20 year-old catcher who's holding his own in AA, and Rosin has great peripherals. Trading Hart for that package would make no sense for the Brewers, but I don't think the Phillies made out badly given their needs.

[TooLiveBrew]

Tommy Joseph seems like the centerpiece of what's heading to Philly. Quickly glancing at his MiLB stats (2d round pick in '09) shows some huge power potential, like enough that it wouldn't matter if he can't stick at catcher. However, his CS rate is very good through three seasons of pro ball. I would gladly roll the dice on this kind of player in exchange for one season of Hart.

 

Here's Perfect Game's pre-'12 writeup of Joseph:

 

Joseph and fellow top prospect Andrew Susac were part of the extremely deep and talented 2009 class of high school catchers, although Joseph was seen as a fringe member of the elite group due to the widespread belief that he would eventually move out from behind the plate for defensive reasons. Joseph, the Giants second round pick in 2009, is now seen as a very strong defensive catcher, having made great improvement across the board in all phases of the game.

 

Where the Giants should be worrying a bit about Joseph is actually what his offensive ceiling is at the Major League level. There is no question that he has plus power potential, especially in the context of being a catcher, and his counting numbers as a 20-year old in Hi A were outstanding (.270-22-95). But like many of the Giants big league hitters (.304 team on base percentage), Joseph has a complete aversion to working counts and has only walked 55 times in over 1,000 minor league plate appearances. Players with low batting averages who take few walks are rarely even average big league performers.

 

His BB rate has jumped from a career 5.3% to 7.5% so far this season. And he's been pushed -- 18 at low-A, 19 at high-A, and obviously to AA this season. His power numbers for a young player who's been challenged by his organization are really impressive.

[DuWayne Steurer]

[quote name='"RockCoCougars"

 

This looks to be a pretty blah return on a guy like Pence. If this is all Hart would bring' date=' I'll keep him, thank you very much.[/b']

 

 

This is what kills me about the annual 'trade Hart' threads. He'll go down as one of the most under-appreciated guys in Brewers history. Look at the contracts guys like Werth, Wells, and Rios got, look at what Hart gets paid, and then look at the return packages for outfielders somewhat similar to Hart are, and I can never understand why so many are so quick to want to get rid of the guy.

 

Granted, Hart's a 1B now, and at .825 OPS or so, he's pretty average offensively, but still......

[JohnBriggs12]

I agree with RoCoBrewfan. After some inconsistency issues earlier in his career, he's been put together 3 straight very good offensive years. If the price was right, I'd be okay with the Brewers extending him because as long as he's this productive, if they want to deal him down the road, there will still be a market for him.

[Kelbysdaddy]

now the phillies have 2 top 10 catching prospects. not a bad problem to have.

[The stache]

Color me surprised the Giants traded Joseph so soon after seeing Posey go down for the year. That broken leg is still fresh in my mind, and I'm not even a Giants fan.