Hot Off the Press

Just found out a few minutes ago off of a Giants threads, but San Francisco has made its first, and certainly not last, deal of the deadline with the Seattle Mariners.

Mariners Get:

-RHP Jesse Foppert: 8-9 in career with 5.00 ERA
-C Yorvit Torrealba: .226-1-7, .301 OBP

Giants Get:

-OF Randy Winn: .275-6-37, 12 SB, .342 OBP
-Giants recall C Yamid Haad from AAA to replace Torrealba

This trade also hints of things to come for the Giants, who are now overloaded in the outfield. Assistant GM Ned Colletti has given centerfielder and leadoff hitter Jason Ellison the dubious title of the "4th outfielder". This makes Michael Tucker and Marquis Grissom expendable, and the most likely to be unloaded, and with Tucker's potential as a spark plug at the top of the lineup, this hints of a bigger trade to come. If Ellison was to start, that would put Winn in right, Alou in left, and shift Feliz to back to 3rd where he would replace Edgardo Alfonzo. A more realistic combination would put Winn in center field leading off, Alou in right, and Feliz in left, leaving Edgardo back at 3rd base. What it's looking like right now though is that Tucker and Alfonzo could possibly be packaged, but to whom is unclear right now. Fonzie and Tucker would be an attractive pair to the Twins at this point, with All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter down with an injury for 4-6 weeks, and their need for a 3rd baseman.

The Twins have shown their willingness to deal young starting pitcher Kyle Lohse, and left-handed reliever J.C. Romero. The Giants could also possibly be shipping out Marquis Grissom in place of Tucker, with Alex Sanchez likely to be released when he returns from the DL. At this point this is all speculation, but one thing's for sure and that's that the Giants are not done wheeling and dealing, as they now turn their attention to acquiring a solid starting pitcher.

This trade was not meant to be deal breaker for the Giants. Winn is a quality player. Nothing sensational, but quality. He's not what I would call a huge presence in the leadoff spot, but he's basically Ellison, only 31 years old and a switch hitter. No, what this deal is for, is to be a precursor to another, possibly bigger deal. Sabean knows that he has an overloaded outfield, and if and when Barry Bonds returns, it's going to get a lot more crowded. Look for another deal to come, but it might not happen before the deadline. According to Sabean,

"A post-deadline deal probably is more likely, everyone is jockeying for the right deal and waiting for the right time to act. We have to see where we are at the deadline. Nobody [in the NL West] has played well since June 1. Tight races prevent you from doing what you want to do. You have to be careful. To me, it would take a series of moves to improve, and that may not happen by the 31st."

More Action on the Trade Front:

-Red Sox have acquired former Giant outfielder Jose Cruz Jr. and cash from the Diamondbacks for minor league infielder Kenny Perez, and minor league pitcher Kyle Bono. The Red Sox get a power hitting outfielder in Cruz Jr., and Arizona couldn't care less that he's gone so everybody wins.

-Padres deal 1B/3B/C Phil Nevin to the Rangers for underachieving starting pitcher Chan Ho Park. Both players haven't lived up to potential shown earlier in their careers, and both are hoping a change of scenery will help them. Nevin moves to the homer-happy Ballpark in Arlington, while Park moves to the pitcher-friendly Petco Park. Whoo...say that five times fast.

-The Manny Ramirez trade to the Mets deal has been on, and off, and on and off again so it's not clear to whether or not it's going to happen. The Red Sox want more in return for their RBI machine, Ramirez. Manny was scratched from the lineup in today's game minutes before gametime, which raised speculation and brought the rumors back from the grave.


More deadline coverage to come so sit tight


Special thanks go out to the person who got that thread up about the Winn trade. The official press release didn't come out until about 9 pm PCT, and the thread was posted at 7:17 pm. I was going back and forth between MLB.com and ESPN.com frantically looking for the trade before I put this post up but thanks to that person I was able to get this up and running before it became common knowledge. Thanks again