Giants apparently adding Carlos Beltran, and why we should be happy about it.

Per MLBTR, the Giants are about to finalize a deal to send first round (number six overall) pitching prospect Zack Wheeler to the Mets for All-Star outfielder Carlos Beltran and about 4 million dollars.  Assuming the deal goes through without any last-minute changes, this move definitely helps the Giants in 2011.  Beltran's OPS is about .150 points higher than any current Giant OF, and his defense, while not what it used to be, is still preferable to trotting out Pat Burrell or Aubrey Huff in a corner, which is what the Giants have had to do on a semi-regular basis this season.

Long term, though, Dodgers fans should be happy about the move.  While the Giants are certainly going to try and sign Beltran long-term after the season, he's a Scott Boras client, which means he is almost certainly going to test free agency.  Even if he does sign with the Giants, he's a 34 year old with lingering injury issues that will cost at least 4 years at 12-15 million per.  Brian Sabean's track record at signing free agents doesn't exactly bode well for San Francisco (see Rowand, Aaron; Zito, Barry; Huff, Aubrey (2011 version); Tejada, Miguel).  On top of that, Beltran reportedly has a clause preventing the team from offering him arbitration, which means no draft picks at the end of the season if/when he leaves.


And as for Zack Wheeler, the prospect the Giants gave up in the deal?  Well, Baseball Prospectus ranks him as the 36th best prospect in all of baseball.  Adam Foster of Project Prospect says, among other things, that "...he's one of the best pitchers I've ever seen in the California League."  Baseball-Intellect.com's scouting report views him as, at worst, a solid number 3 starter with potential number 1 upside.  Long story short, the brilliant Brian Sabean traded one of the most highly regarded prospects in baseball for 2+ months of Carlos Beltran.


Yes, this move makes the 2011 San Francisco Giants better, and nobody likes to see that.  However, since the Dodgers already had no chance of catching them this season, fans should be happy that long-term, the Giants have significantly weakened their farm system in pursuit of this year's championship, which we all know will be won by the Red Sox anyways.