San Francisco made two key deals before MLB trade deadline
The San Francisco Giants entered Monday with a two-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the N.L. West and made two key deals before the MLB trade deadline to help them in the division race over the last two months.
The first was a bit of a quiet move, with the Giants picking up reliever Will Smith from Milwaukee in exchange for catcher Andrew Susac and pitching prospect Phil Bickford.
Smith, a lefty, has a 3.68 ERA, but he's been better than that this year. He had a 1.93 ERA in late July but saw that figure balloon after giving up five earned runs in his last 3.1. innings. He'll help a Giants bullpen that currently ranks eighth in the N.L. in ERA and is able to chew up outs against both left- and right-handed hitters.
Susac hit .218 with a .297 OBP in 148 plate appearances for the Giants in 2015 and was spending this season in Triple-A, where he's posted a .343 OBP. He'll presumably get the opportunity with the Brewers the Giants couldn't afford him, a starting catcher spot, as Milwaukee dealt Jonathan Lucroy to Texas before the deadline.
The second deal San Francisco made Monday is the headliner.
Confirming: #SFGiants get Moore from #Rays. @Joelsherman1 and @TBTimes_Rays on it.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 1, 2016
San Francisco made a deal with Tampa Bay, getting starting pitcher Matt Moore in exchange for a package built around third baseman Matt Duffy.
Moore, a 27-year-old lefty, has struggled a bit with the Rays over the last two seasons after showing his huge potential with Tampa in 2012 an 2013. He brings a 4.08 ERA in 130 innings to San Francisco but still has the low-to-mid 90s fastball and will get a chance to slot in behind Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto in the rotation.
Duffy is a 25-year-old above-average defensive third baseman who the Rays hope will be able to provide more pop than he gave the Giants, where he was hitting .253/.313/.358 entering Monday.
