Outfield prospect Joe McCarthy will head from Tampa to San Francisco, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Lefty Jacob Lopez will head to the Rays in the swap, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
Tampa’s well-publicized 40-man crunch attracted no shortage of sharks from around the league, with the super-active Giants the latest to take a bite. McCarthy, who checked in at #14 on a comically-deep Rays list at FanGraphs this offseason, has struggled tremendously in the homer-happy International League this season, slashing just .196/.335/.385 in what’s been his first extended professional slump thus far (the 6’3 lefty had destroyed AAA pitching in a short stint last season before his campaign was cut short by back and hand injuries). Still, encouraging signs remain – the ever-patient lefty is still walking in nearly 16% of his at-bats while running an unsustainably low .256 BABIP. The former University of Virginia product “may be this decade’s Nick Johnson,” per the site, which heralds his “exceptional” secondary skills and ability to handle either outfield corner in addition to first base.
It’s the latest in a series of low-risk, high-reward moves for the Giants, who also today acquired Triple-A masher Jaylin Davis in the Sam Dyson deal with the Twins and picked up Scooter Gennett from Cincinnati for a next-to-nothing return. President of Baseball Ops Farhan Zaidi’s longstanding affinity for the platoon should eventually make room for both Davis and McCarthy at a corner spot, where they’ll look to follow in the ever-enlarging shoes of comparably overlooked pickups Alex Dickerson, Mike Yastrzemski, and Donovan Solano.
Lopez, 21, is a 6’4 lefty who’s yet to make it to full-season ball. In 41 2/3 innings for Short-Season Salem-Keizer, Lopez’s set down 39 men and walked just seven. He doesn’t crack the team’s top 30 prospect list at any major outlet.
How is news still trickling in an hour later?
Always does
This happens every year. Paperwork gets sent between 3:45-4 PM EST and the league can’t process, approve, and finalize all the trades at once.
The trade deadline was only an hour and 9 minutes ago so it’s great they’re finally announcing this stuff…
I don’t understand how you people don’t realize this happens every year. When 30 trades are sent in 5 minutes before the deadline it takes a little while for the news to come out. Relax.
Hopefully one comes out that the Insiders have to come back in to talk about like maybe Smoak,Cardinals or Dodgers aquiring a BP or Wheeker or so on.
exactly
I guess they like him. Stats aren’t that great.
Maybe more depth for AAA. I think some moves are gonna be made, where someone gets called up for Austin…
Is this the same Joe McCarthy that Billy Joel mentions in we didn’t start the fire?
Have you left no sense of decency?
At long last… Benintendi (sounds like a commie to me) should check out Joe McCarthy’s Ghost by the Minutemen or Exhuming McCarthy by R.E.M.instead.
In other news, Tim is wringing out Steve, Jeff, and Connor right now. Great job, guys! Another fun deadline!
Don’t forget Ty!
Farhan is wheeeeeelin
Seriously
I hope this calms his critics some
Although if getting over .500 and into the WC hunt hasn’t done it yet I guess nothing will
McCarthyism!
guess Lopez was a communist then?
Heard Cincy was in on McCarthy but the Reds were on his NTC.
Dang it, you beat me by about a second. LOL
You had to know Joe McCarthy wouldn’t be traded to the Reds.
That would be cruel.
What a weird trade.
A fringe prospect who needs to be 40 man protected traded for a fringe prospect who does not? Very common transaction.
Just waiting to the news to trickle in that the Dodgers beat the buzzer and acquired Giles and Vasquez for their World Series run…good thing I packed a lunch
Farhan is
McCarthy was already on the 40-man, from last winter. He’s a bit of a problem child, having suffered injury after injury, some of which were strange. Then he busted his hand last year smashing the dugout wall. That, and some chronic under-performance, made him more than expendable.
That said, it’s not much of a return, which leads me to suspect there’s more issues.
Good info
How does that make him a problem child? Lots of players get injuries. Was he crying about them.
The Rays are loaded at Single A Bowling Green. They got talent..
Solid Nick Johnson reference no joke my son played against his kid in AAA little league he was the head coach I was assistant for my sons team. His team was really good and his kid was the best! Funny to see his face on this website haha!