November 30, 2016

Gardner and the Giants

Harrison Howard suggests the Giants trade for the Yankees Brett Gardner:

Gardner’s contract has him with a ball club through 2018, with a team option for 2019. If not this season, but next season the Yankees will need Gardner off the roster. They are rebuilding and don’t need a 33-year-old taking playing time away from their top outfield prospects. This off-season makes the most sense to move him. His trade value won’t be higher than it is right now. The Giants need to take advantage of this and acquire Gardner before another team jumps on him.

Interestingly, the article feels that Gardner would improve the Giants with his glove more than his bat. Unfortunately, the last three seasons FanGraphs rates him as a negative outfielder. The Giants defense was fine in 2016 in LF.

Gardner’s biggest plus would be his OBP, but the trade would give them an old outfield with Denard Span and Hunter Pence. Defense is a young man’s game, so while they may generate some runs, some balls will fall in for hits.

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