Thinking about White Sox GM Kenny Williams’s wily waiver grab of Alex Rios and the $60 million-plus left on his contract led me to this thought: Could the Giants still add a bat before Sept. 1?
(If it led you to a different thought — “Why didn’t the Giants try for Rios?” — the answer is they were third-to-last in line for waiver claims. They never got a chance to say yes or no.)
I won’t get into all the waiver permutations, but it’ll be supremely tough to align all the stars and planets and make an August trade. Of those planets, one of the densest is the Giants’ fear of thinning the farm system too much. A well-justified fear, I might add. Forget waiver rules for a minute. There’s no way the Giants will get an above-average major league hitter without giving up a Bumgarner or Posey; there’s no way the Giants would trade a Bumgarner or Posey without getting back a top-notch hitter, and there’s no way a top-notch hitter would make it through waivers unclaimed, or at least to the Giants’ end of the line.
See what I mean?
One suggestion emailed to me today: Trade Eugenio Velez while his value is at its peak. Sorry, he’s on the 40–man roster, which means he has to clear waivers. If you were the Padres or Nationals or other bottom-feeder, wouldn’t you claim Velez to see what happens?
No, folks, I think this is it. The Giants are gonna dance down the stretch with thems who’s already on the card. Besides, wouldn’t it be fun to see Buster Posey come up in September and make a difference in a playoff race?
And for the record, yes, I think the Sox getting Rios was a great move. He might go down the tubes between now and 2013, but he doesn’t have to be that much better than he is now to justify his contract, especially if he plays center field.
