TODAY: Pence’s surgery has been scheduled for Thursday, the Giants told reporters (including Alex Pavlovic).
FRIDAY: Giants outfielder Hunter Pence is expected to require surgery for a fully torn hamstring, Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com was among those to report. He’ll likely miss at least two months after undergoing the procedure, but the veteran tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that it may be longer (Twitter links).
For now, the expectation is that the team will look to internal options to step in with Pence (and also Angel Pagan) sidelined. But manager Bruce Bochy says that he’s already had discussions with GM Bobby Evans about possible trade targets.
The diagnosis does seem to suggest that San Francisco will be shopping for a corner outfielder. Some might have suggested that was already a reasonable position to pursue an upgrade. And with Pence likely out until after the trade deadline, the club may not have the luxury of just waiting to see how he bounces back.
Pence is among the organization’s best and most respected players, and the loss will tell regardless of what the team can do to replace his production. Barring a major trade, though, there’s little chance that San Francisco will find anything close to what Pence provides from its fill-ins. Over his 208 plate appearances on the year, the 33-year-old owns a .298/.375/.486 batting line with seven home runs.
Fortunately, the Giants do have several well-regarded young players on hand to fill in. Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker are both active and figure to get a legitimate opportunity at the major league level for the first time after showing real promise in the upper minors. The club can also turn to utilityman Kelby Tomlinson and utilize first baseman Brandon Belt in the corner outfield.
Despite those options, it will be interesting to watch what the Giants aim to accomplish in the summer trade market. Several corner outfielders appeared in the first iteration of MLBTR’s Top 10 Trade Candidates series, including Jay Bruce of the Reds and Ryan Braun of the Brewers. Any number of other players could join them over the months to come, with San Francisco’s options likely ranging from platoon pieces to long-term assets.
Ruhroh
Ouch.
That sucks… stuff like this isn’t suppose to happen to the Giants on even numbered years.
Melky Cabrera got suspended in an even year.
Braun is the obvious guy that everyone will go to which I think is a great option but with braun’s salary and the Giants pushing the luxury tax already i don’t think it’s the smartest option. I think a guy like Blackmon from Colorado is the perfect fit this is why 1) he can play all 3 outfield spots. 2) his salary is a lot lower than Braun’s or Bruce’s. It would allow them to have salary to add a reliever. 3) he hits ( it’s not braun’s numbers but I think it’s better than Bruce).
It would be expensive. Not sure the Giants have the big name prospect to land a guy like Blackmon.
Blackmon isn’t that good. He’s a below average centerfielder. He got hurt so he’s not a big basestealer anymore. He’s a fine player. Just average really though.
Really? It only cost McGee to get Dickerson…im sure the Giants could get Blackmon for around that cost or a couple of mid-range prospects.
They dont have the prospects to get blackmon though.
Aside from being a division rival hes 29, decent away from coors, and can play all 3 outfield spots effectively.
The fact hes cheaper and can be controlled via arb for 2 more seasons for around 5-8mill depending itll cost a decent amount of prospects for the rockies to part with him this early.
Giants are 20th or worse in minor league rankings and doubt they part with top prospects for blackmon.
But a deal including parker or williamson, blackburn, coonrad, miller might work blackmon but would the rockies take the package? Or would they push for more of a bickford or arroyo for blackmon just cause theyre rivals..
The Rockies are very unlikely to trade Blackmon within their division. I realize they did make a trade for Scutaro a few years back but he only had one year left on his deal and at the time Brian Sabean even gave credit to previous Coloroado GM Dan O’Dowd for allowing such a highly unlikely inter divisional trade to take place.
With that being said, Braun makes a lot of sense and with Pagan and Peavy coming off the books after this year (collectively $26ish million) and Cain’s inevitable departure following the conclusion of his contract in 2017 ($22 million) the Giants should not be too worried about the luxury tax threshold IMO
I always laugh when people say Giants don’t have the prospects…. season after season they put out all star caliber players..
Prospects are sadly more about hype than effectiveness. A prospect with a ton of hype is worth more than a prospect with no hype that ends up becoming an all star 5 years down the road… Like Jesus Montero vs any other prospect lol
He’s done for the year …. What’s with all these hammy injuries
Markakis is a perfect fit. He would come cheaper than other options and the Beaves are eager to drop him.
Except Markakis is really, really bad. No power at all and his defense is bad. He draws walks but that’s basically it.
I don’t pay a bunch of mind to this notion that you can’t trade within your division – the Rockies aren’t contending anyway, but Cargo, not Blackmon, would seem to be the more obvious target.
Or for a cheap option, how about jon Jay? Jay isn’t much but he has a bit of on base skills and can slide into a fourth outfielder role when Pence returns.
Jay wont come cheap. Division rival. Why would preller sell jay to a division rival cheaply? He could trade him elsewhere and not have to deal with jay rest of the year.
No way they take on that contract… Mac Williamson or Jarrett Parker will play for now. I’d say Jay Bruce would be the only “big” name they would go for since his contract is up.
Bruce could work from a contractual standpoint but why add another left-handed outfielder? Blanco, Span, Parker and Pagan (possibly Belt as well) already fill that role, if they are going to make a trade they need a right-handed bat which is why Braun makes even more sense
Pagan is still 10 days away 🙁 They haven’t traded for a contract like Braun’s ever (from my memory) . Its not the front office M.O. They’d probably go for Jeff Francouer haha
I’m not a fan of getting Braum….. He has his injury issues
Padres going nowhere so probably could get Jon Jay fairly cheap and he plays all 3 OF spots and is hitting near .300.
There isn’t really any reason to trad for someone who is just going to be league average or worse. Try to go big for a Cargo or Braun or just deal with it in house.
Time for the return of Michael Morse
Dodgers are going to shine now
Wonder if the Giants will let Crawford go through waivers and give him a call? He hasn’t looked great for awhile but perhaps a change of scenery and a chance to take on his former team will put a twist on things.
I wonder if this means that they are in the trade market for a RF now, To be honest, with Bautista, Encarnacion, and many other talented players on the Jays’ roster becoming free agents at the end of the season, I would much rather be sellers, than buyers at the deadline. Our farm systerm isn’t great, and I would rather get solid prospects at the deadline, than let Bautista, Edwin, and more, go in free agency, and only get a compensation draft pick for each player who leaves. After this season the Jays are not contenders, and I don’t think it makes sense to contend now, with the future of this team being in jeopardy. I would be happy if we traded bautista for Phil Bickford, Chris shaw, or two lower level prospects.
I think the Jays should talk to the Nats about Trea Turner. The Nats are sending him down when Zimmerman comes back and the 2 GMs have some rapport from the Revere/ Storen trade. Jays need a fast OBP guy in front of Donaldson and whichever slugger they resign ( I only believe they keep one after this year if they keep one at all) The only problem would be the asking price.
The Giants’ only power bat in the minors is Chris Shaw, he’s not going anywhere
Edwin and Jose have 5/10 rights they can veto any trade.
If Preller and the Padres are going to agree to ship an outfielder to a division rival like San Diego it would be Upton or Kemp — not Jay. It’s not going to be a player like Jay who’s a free agent at the end of the year. Preller would be much more interested in unloading salary.
How about in irate