The Astros claimed infielder Matt Downs off waivers from the Giants, tweets Alyson Footer. Downs has been assigned to the team's Triple A affiliate. He was designated for assignment on Monday to clear a spot for Cody Ross.
Downs, 26, struggled in the bigs over 148 career plate appearances in 2009-10. He played second base in the Majors, but has minor league experience at shortstop, third base, and the outfielder corners as well. This year marked his third Triple A stint; his power slipped as he posted a .254/.348/.416 line in a half-season. Downs was still considered a prospect heading into the 2009 season, when Baseball America ranked him 24th on their Giants list and published praise from GM Brian Sabean.
Smart move. Wallace, Sanchez, Johnson, and Downs. Good building blocks for a rookie infield.
Downs is a fantastic fielder. I’m not sure what the stats are, but you’ll like him in the infield.
good defender.his bat hasnt come around thusfar,but hes still fairly young this could be a steal.
His upside is probably to be like Mark Derosa. So of course Sabean would rather pay Derosa and give Downs away for nothing
Give Sabean a break on this one. Needed to make room to acquire Ross off waivers from Florida. If he didn’t, Ross would have ended up in San Diego and Sabean would be getting heat for not blocking the transaction. The Giants have a chance to win now and Ross is more valuable than Downs at the moment.
Sabean deserves no break on this one. He could have DFA’s several other players before Downs. Velez, Mota, Hinshaw, or Rowand all come to mind as players who are just wasting space on the 40-man roster.
Have you watched the Giants this year? Mota saved them for most of the season when Romo and Bautisa were choking. Hinshaw maybe, Rowand costs too much, Velez has more upside than Downs any day of the week and was more valuable on the MLB roster.
Yes, I watch at least a couple innings of most games. Do you? Mota was great earlier in the year, but he’s given up runs in his last 6 appearances. That’s not gonna cut it for a reliever. Rowand is a waste of roster space. The Giants need to pay him regardless, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t cut him. And don’t get me started on Velez. He can’t field, he’s overmatched at the plate, and he makes boneheaded baserunning mistakes. He is 100% worthless at the MLB level. I don’t see any upside, especially for a guy who’s 28. Downs is a couple of years younger, and he plays solid D. I would much rather have him in our system. My whole point is that there were several other guys who I think should have been DFA’d before Downs.