If you assumed that just simply because the Giants have a new, far more analytically savvy front place of work that they wouldn’t be pursuing middle fielders in their 30s, guess all over again. In accordance to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Giants are taking into consideration a trade for the Yankees’ Jacoby Ellsbury.
As SF has canvassed the market place for OF help, they’ve talked about Jacoby Ellsbury, probably would be open up to a bad deal swap. For instance, speculation: Cueto owed $68m, coming again from TJ surgical procedures NYY could recoup insurance plan in ’19. Ellsbury owed $48m. $ would have to even out
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 4, 2019
Cueto for Ellsbury? A person will be absent in 2019, and the other will be ineffectual.
Ellsbury, like Johnny Cueto, is owed an regular of $21 million a yr more than the remainder of his deal. The change is that Ellsbury is beneath deal for two far more a long time, and Johnny Cueto is signed for a few. Just about every have a club option for a third and fourth yr, respectively, that arrives with a $5 million buyout.
The Yankees would want to do this simply because they have no use for Ellsbury. Their starting outfield is Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, and Aaron Judge. They’ll also have Clint Frazier and Brett Gardner for the fourth and fifth outfield spots. Ellsbury is not heading to get actively playing time in New York, so they’d somewhat consider the prospect Johnny Cueto can return and be powerful in 2020 and 2021. In the meantime, they could accumulate insurance plan cash on Cueto as they did with Jacoby Ellsbury very last time.
The Giants would want to do this simply because they have a first rate amount of starting pitching alternatives and there will always be Derek Hollands and Drew Pomeranzes to sign to a person-yr promotions in the upcoming. What the Giants don’t have is outfielders. The projected Opening Day outfield has a blended 688 key league plate appearances. Steamer/600 thinks they’ll be worth a collective 1.2 fWAR. Even another person like Ellsbury would be an advancement even if it is very, very slight.
Ellsbury and Cueto every single carry their pitfalls. Ellsbury missed all of 2018 with a hip personal injury, and there’s no assurance he’ll be ready for Opening Day. In the a few a long time prior to that, he executed like, very well, a Giants outfielder: .261/.331/.372 for a 91 wRC+. He also averaged 1.5 fWAR in every single of individuals a long time. His protection has always been strike or overlook, and I wouldn’t hope him to get back some of that 2011 magic in his age 35, 36, or 37 seasons.
Cueto, of study course, is not heading to pitch in 2019 although he recovers from Tommy John surgical procedures. His very last handful of a long time have been up and down. His initial yr with the Giants was arguably the ideal yr of his occupation, but his command went haywire the next yr. His 2018 commenced brilliantly, but the elbow challenges derailed him. There is no assurance that Cueto will be the exact when he returns in 2020. At that position, his very last great time will have been four a long time powering him.
The premier profit for the Giants in this scenario is that it would totally free up some payroll in 2021. What could they do with that further cash? Perfectly, I’m guaranteed they’ll to put some cash aside to build Mt. Davis II. They unquestionably will not be working with it to sign totally free brokers.
Yet another option for the Giants would be to see if Mark Melancon would be fascinated in waiving his no-trade clause. Melancon, who is owed $28 million more than the next two a long time, (and $36 more than the next 10) would conserve the Yankees some cash although letting the Giants to keep out for a Cueto comeback.
Would Melancon waive his no-trade clause to be a again of the pen guy powering Adam Ottavino, Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, Zach Britton, and Chad Environmentally friendly? In all probability not, but maybe he’d somewhat be in the margins of a profitable staff than on the marquee of a losing a person.
Irrespective of whether it is Cueto or Melancon heading for Ellsbury, this would only be a marginal advancement to the roster if it is a person at all. I’d nonetheless think that Cueto has some thing still left after he arrives again in 2020. Ellsbury is projected to be worth someplace involving Breyvic Valera and Drew Ferguson next yr, and it is just heading to be downhill from there.
An Ellsbury for Cueto trade could possibly have rocked the basis of the baseball earth 5 or six a long time in the past. Now, it would have about the exact amount of roster impression of obtaining a guy the Orioles did not want.
