Both the A's and the Giants had rumors swirling around them Tuesday before the trade deadline, but only the Giants were able to make a move to improve their chances at reaching and being competitive in the postseason.
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| Hunter Pence Coming to Town |
After seeing their offense wilt over the weekend vs. the Dodgers, it was
clear the Giants needed a boost. They got just that Tuesday, sending
young catching
prospect Tommy Joseph, Nate Schierholtz and an minor league arm to
Philly for the guy I think
was the best bat in this trade market, Hunter Pence. The thing I really
like
about this move is it's not a half season rental. Pence will be around
for 2013 and could give the Giants a good security blanket in case they
can't re-sign Melky Cabrera this winter. He's going to come right in
and hit in the middle of the order and should provide a huge boost to
the sputtering offense. Giving up Joseph certainly isn't easy to do, but
the one area the Giants are pretty deep at is catcher so that was
the area of strength to deal from. With the Dodgers improving left and
right (adding Brandon League and Shane Victorino), it was inevitable the
Giants would try and answer for a splash of their own. I'm just glad
they aren't needing to part with a slew of prospects in order to get to
get it done.
The A's just finished their best July in club history, so it's not like they were desperate to make a move, but apparently they were trying. They entered last month as a team likely to sell off veteran players but their surge over the last 30 days changed Billy Beane's thinking. I just don't think the A's are legit contenders yet though, even with their solid play of late. The Angels got a whole lot better before the deadline and both them and the Rangers are much deeper than Oakland. I said in our post previewing the trade deadline that the biggest roster moves for Oakland would be when they get Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson back, but it's too bad they couldn't add that big hitter they needed.
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