The Rays and Giants have combined on a trade of minor leaguers, with right-hander Jeremy Walker heading to Tampa Bay and catcher/infielder Ford Proctor going to the Giants. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Proctor had been dealt, while The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome reported Walker’s involvement in the trade.
Walker’s MLB experience consists of 9 1/3 innings with the Braves in 2019, and the righty has a 3.91 ERA over 439 2/3 minor league innings since Atlanta made him a fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft. Working mostly as a starter in his first three pro seasons, Walker made a successful transition to relief pitching in 2019 that resulted in his first Major League call-up. However, he didn’t pitch at all in 2020-21 due to the canceled minor league season and a shoulder impingement.
There is clearly some rust still to be worked off after Walker’s long layoff, as he has struggled to a 6.99 ERA over 37 1/3 combined innings (35 1/3 in Triple-A, two in Double-A) in 2022. While his 23.2% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate are nothing special, Walker has been allowing a ton of hits, and a .390 BABIP indicates some level of bad luck for the 27-year-old.
Given Tampa Bay’s successes in pitching development, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Walker get back on track in a new organization. In exchange, the Rays are giving up a third-rounder from the 2018 draft in Proctor, who was ranked 19th on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 30 prospects in Tampa’s farm system. Dealing Proctor also opens up a spot on the Rays’ 40-man roster, which hints at future moves to come before tomorrow’s trade deadline.
Proctor hit well in A-ball in 2019 and at Double-A in 2021, and also posted some good numbers in the Australian Baseball League and in indy ball in 2020 in lieu of a proper minor league season. In 2022, however, Proctor has hit a modest .213/.329/.306 over 317 PA at Triple-A Durham, his first taste of Triple-A pitching.
Perhaps best known for his unusual defensive profile, Proctor was drafted an infielder but started catching in 2020. Proctor has started 52 games behind the plate for Durham this season while also making 10 starts as a third baseman, one start as a shortstop, and four appearances as a second baseman. The Giants are known to prize defensive versatility, and Proctor’s ability to act as more than just a traditional backup catcher could allow him to carve out a path to a spot on a big league roster.
not ford proctor 🙁 the truck teacher to the bay, I heard trucks don’t like water
Not only is the trade a gamble…as we all know ALL Fords are gambles
Procter is a nice piece to have. La Tortuga esque versatility.
Lefty batting Austin Nola type…
Only if we comes with an extended warranty.
Gamble and Chevy left out of the deal?
I see what you did there
I have strong feelings about this, such as “who?” and “sure, why not?” as well as “okay.”
Chevy Gamble left out of the deal?
That deal we have all been waiting for
I have to admit, as a old man and a Giants fan, I’m clueless on what the heck this administration is doing. Maybe some honest comments would be helpful. Ha!
I’m right there with you as being old, and a Giants fan. Despite looking at these guy’s numbers, I’m as clueless, or more, as anyone about them. But what I do know is FZ has a ton more information than I do. He has an analytics department, as well as scouts feeding him information.
That doesn’t mean either guy will be even league average, in fact probably not. Every guy in the minors has some level of potential, and most will fail, but so far no team has completely figured out who will develop, and who won’t.
All I can say is FZ is smarter about baseball than I am, and has vastly more info than I, or anyone posting here has, and after delivering a team that won 107 games in 2021, he deserves some slack.
The transaction gets worse. Rumor is the Giants are adding Proctor to the 40 man roster for some strange reason and dfa’ing Kervin Castro.
Castro has indeed been DFAd according to KNBR.
Castro has been getting lit up in aaa though, or at least I thought.
So the Giants got a kitchen appliance in return? I’m just asking a question.
Absolutely ridiculous. This went from a meh trade to FZ and Harris looking like a couple of idiots. No way Castro survives waivers.
Another big Zaidi dumpster dive! Wait and see what Zaidi finds in the landfill.
Surprised TB gave up Proctor in a deal like this. He’s a catcher with versatility, bats left, and scouting reports praise his baseball acumen. Not much of a return for him…
I don’t know. The Rays analytics department is the best in baseball and obviously saw something in Walker. They turn around pitchers all the time. I think the Rays got a good return.
Rays are busy I see
lol giants….rock bottom
We did it boys
Giants FO has become a joke. Can’t draft worth a s. now have nothing to trade except their two blue chips Harrison and Luciano
@Mark Polishuk, heard rumor that Proctor has been added to the 40 man roster and Kervin Castro has been designated for assignment. Is this true?
True, according to KNBR.
After watching this dumpster fire of a game tonight, anyone else hoping to see a headline tomorrow reading “Giants trade everything not currently nailed down” ?
Sure would be nice. However, with all the trades today, not sure if there is much of a market left for FZ to get anything in return.
He must have had a tough childhood that name.