Matt Morris Traded

Less than an hour before the trading deadline, The Giants acquired Rajai Davis from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Matt Morris and his bloated contract.

Giants exchange starter Morris for rookie outfielder Davis

What This Means For The Giants
As I read the bottom line on ESPN and saw that The Giants had traded Matt Morris, my first thought was 'The Pirates???'. There appeared to be three teams in the running for Matt Morris at one point, (Braves, Phillies, Mariners) but leading up to the deadline, The Mariners seemed liked the only team willing to take him. The Pirates have the worst record in the National League and you would assume be sellers at the trading deadline. What Shocked me most about this deal is that The Pirates were willing to take ALL of Matt Morris' salary (2 mil for the rest of the season and 9.5 next year).

The Giants also got what I expected in return for Morris: a 2nd/3rd tier prospect. Rajai Davis began this season on nobody's radar. He was ranked the 27th best prospect in The Pirates system which was ranked 19th in the majors (The Giant's farm system was ranked 20th). However, he was listed as the system's fastest base runner but he was known only for striking out too much and not getting very many hits. This season Davis took off. His line for his brief stint in AAA before being called up reads 211 ABs .318 avg. 4 HRs, 30 RBIs, 27 SBs, .383 OBP, .469 SLG

Davis profiles as a useful 4th/5th outfielder that The Giants can keep for a few years. Anyone who can steal 27 bases in in 53 games (lead The International league before he was called up) can definitely improve any team. He might turn out to be another Jason Ellison but what the heck.

With the departure of Matt Morris, a spot in the starting rotation will open up. My guess is that Russ Ortiz will fill in for the rest of the season because Pat Misch is not likely to be ready to start at the major league level in 4 days because just a week and a half ago he was a relief pitcher.

To wrap things up I guess I approve of this trade but I wish that Brian Sabean had pulled the trigger earlier when The Giants could have got an elite prospect.

Trade Deadline

Let me take you back in time, a little over a month and a half ago to be exact. Matt Morris had just rapped up his second complete game in a row(and third overall). His E.R.A. was a minuscule 2.56. By then it was obvious that the Giants weren't going to do so much down the stretch because their starting pitching was performing off the charts, and yet they still couldn't score enough runs to get them any higher than 5 games below .500(29-34). Rumors about Matt Morris being on the trading block had started to surface after his previous start(an 8 inning CG loss to the D'Backs 1-0). However, Brian Sabean was not willing to trade Morris because he set a good example for the younger pitchers on the Giant's staff, and most importantly, trading your teams best pitcher at the time (even if you knew he could not keep up his low E.R.A. for too much longer)for some top prospect the average fan has never heard of does not sell tickets.

A few bad starts followed his complete game performance, Matt Morris was finally performing like the Matt Morris we all loved from 2006(10-15, 4.98 E.R.A.). After his start against the D'backs on June 29th, his E.R.A. had risen to 3.25, and the Giants record had also fallen to 33-45. They were only 12 games out of 1st place with more than half the season left, but they had 4 teams to hurdle and their offense was as bad as ever. Even the Giants front office for once could tell it was time to maybe start building for the future.

The next afternoon mlbtraderumors.com reported that the Giants were starting to listen to offers for Matt Morris. As the month of July got started, 3 teams surfaced as possible buyers for Morris:The Mariners, The Mets, and The Braves. Each team had a young player or two that interested the Giants.

Mariners-Wladimir Balentien-->23 year old minor league outfielder from the Netherlands Antilles. Always considered to have 30 home run potential but struck out way too much. However, his woes at the plate seemed non existent when he started off the year in AAA batting over .300 and leading the team in home runs.
Jeff Clement-->23 year old catcher who profiles as a .300 20 home run, offensively minded catcher. Came only a few home runs short of breaking Mark McGuire's record at USC.


Mets-Lastings Milledge-->22 year old outfielder who for the past year had been optioned back and forth between the Mets and their AAA minor league affiliate in New Orleans. Scouts love his quick bat , he could probably start for most teams right now.


Braves-Jarrod Saltalamacchia -->22 year old, switch hitting catcher who is only on the block because of Brian McCann. He is considered a very good hitting catcher with average/above average fielding abilities.




The Giants have been rumored to be going after all of these prospects using Morris as their main bait. However the stock of Matt Morris has plummeted in the past two weeks. His E.R.A. in the month of July is a whopping 8.76! Teams have started to shy away from Morris and it is unlikely that The Giants will get any of those top prospects for just Morris. If The Giants trade Morris at all, it will be for a second tier prospect (Fred Lewis type). The Giants have likely wasted their biggest tool in their rebuilding efforts. However, The Giants do have a few other players on the block, who might bring in a little talent, if not at least rid The Giants of part of their salary.

Steve Kline-->34 year old left handed reliever. Is 0-1 with a 3.19 E.R.A. in 31 innings this year. Due to earn 1.75 million in 08'. Likely to be trade because he isn't terribly important to The Giants bullpen (Sanchez is good, Taschner is serviceable). Possible suitors: Phillies,Braves

Dave Roberts-->35 year old left handed outfielder. Batting .251 with 20 SB's in 63 games this season. He is in the first year of a 3 year 18 million dollar deal (#$@#@%#^#!!!!). He is unlikely to be traded because of his salary, but if The Giants are willing to pay a good portion of his salary he could be of some use to contenders who need a 5th outfielder/designated pinch runner. Possible suitors:Red Sox??

Omar Vizquel-->40 year old switch hitting shortstop. Batting .243 with 9 SB's this season. He is in the last year if his contract and is due to make about half of his 5 million salary. Still the most sure-handed shortstop in the game, even if his offensive production is lame. Might be of value to a team that is desperate for a shortstop and/or wants an excellent team leader for the stretch run. Possible Suitors:Red Sox...thats about it

Noah Lowry-->26 year old left handed starter. 11-7 with a 3.40 E.R.A. this season. He is signed through 2009 with a team option for 2010. He is by far the best player The Giants are willing to trade. He will likely only be traded if the deal is overwhelmingly in The Giants favor, or if the deal includes Mark Teixera. However, I suspect the Lowry for Teixera deal will not happen because the Rangers are reportedly demanding Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes from the Yankees who are both top notch prospects and at least to me seem more valuable than Noah Lowry. Possible Suitors:Rangers,Mariners