Giants acquire Garko

Originally posted by SanDiegoGiant:
Horrible. The Giants get raped in situations like this and have to overpay for a bat that everyone in the world knows they need, so they overpay for a mediocre bat that now has to learn the pitching of a new league. I brought up the LaRoche trade last week as well as the Gmen could get rid of two lower level prospects. Barnes was a 6'-4" lefty with great K/BB ratio. This one will hopefully not blow up in their face like they normally have been lately. Hope Garko does well but I don't like the trade.

My first response SD was to say it was good but the more I thought about it and the more I realized that we just gave up a TOP prospect the more I dont like it. It isn't horrible ( and I always worry that Sabean will pull off a total disaster of a deal) but its clear that he overpaid again. Sabean should have looked at the LaRoache deal to see what the going rate was for a bat.

Garko was just on the phone in studio on postgame. Seems like a good teammate -- ready to come here and be a run producer, do whatever it takes to win. Taking a flight out at 11 tonight, hoping to play tomorrow.

The Giants have been eyeing a first baseman to replace Travis Ishikawa, and Garko is a nice fit. The 28-year old is batting .285/.362/.464 this season with 11 home runs and 39 RBI. He's a force against left-handed pitchers and is under team control through 2012. Barnes, 21, has gone 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA and a 99/29 K/BB ratio in 18 starts (99 innings) for Single-A San Jose.
Source: Ed Price on Twitter
And actually Garko is having a better year than LaRoche, he is younger and another reason why we had to give up a little more is LaRoche' 2009 contract $7.25 milion
Garko $446,100
Garko immediately becomes our second best hitter and is tied for second on the team in HR's while having 100 less ab's

how long is garkos contract

I know we all want to see big name blockbuster deals, but IMO, any deal that makes you better is a good deal. And it sounds like Garko, while not amazing, is still a better hitter than most of the guys we have right now. I think with our pitching, an extra hit and there is the difference between winning and losing a lot of games. Barnes may end up being good, but we've got lots of pitching and lots of pitching prospects.

Getting a guy who can hit that's young and has reasons to stay in the bay area seems like a good move to me.

Solid move. We still need another hitter to make a strong case to win the WC

Originally posted by Giantjohn:
Freddy Sanchez is overrated. He is slumping badly right now. Read this:
Sanchez went 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts in Arizona and remains hitless in his last 20 at-bats. Sanchez, who also has just three hits in his last 36 at-bats overall, travels to San Francisco for three games this week before returning to PNC Park against the Nationals. The Pirates are 22-12 in games in which Sanchez gets at least two hits. He might settle down after he learns of his trade deadline fate later this week.

I just dont see how trading for a guy who is hitting .296 with just 6 homers and 34 rbis and is a marginal defensive 2b is going to make us a contender. In fact, he wont.

He'll just come cheaper. He's a legit .300 hitter and is more than marginal defensively. It just means that the stars are aligning for him to become a Giant. Make it happen Sabean.

Like Will Said, we need another hitter. IMO preferably one to play 2nd base. Uribe, while a nice bat off the bench and an able substitute, is not an everyday player. 2nd is a big hole now.

This is a good trade. Garko is a solid player and we didn't give up any of our untouchable prospects to get him.

Originally posted by Poncho707:
how long is garkos contract

According to the paper he is arbitration eligible, which may be why they were limiting his at bats in Cleveland.
Also has a history of big months in August/September and is fairly hot of late which may have also got the deal done. As I have been corrected he was the top Indian in average against lefties.

Sabean say he expects him not to be a rent-a-bat and to be in the mix beyond next year. I hope he responds to the challenge and the opportunity to up his value.

I would be nice to latch on to a Jeff Kent type who is waiting for a chance to emerge.

The one thing it seems a shame to lose about Barnes though, is his imposing size. It would have been nice to see a Giant pitcher fill out a uniform like and sit there next to Timmy on the bench their off days. I can't remember when the Giants had that type of guy on the mound. He may have not been MLB ready for a while but judging by Tim last night (despit the weak Pirate lineup) he'll be around for awhile.

I like the trade.

Originally posted by KungFuPanda:
I know we all want to see big name blockbuster deals, but IMO, any deal that makes you better is a good deal. And it sounds like Garko, while not amazing, is still a better hitter than most of the guys we have right now. I think with our pitching, an extra hit and there is the difference between winning and losing a lot of games. Barnes may end up being good, but we've got lots of pitching and lots of pitching prospects.

Getting a guy who can hit that's young and has reasons to stay in the bay area seems like a good move to me.

I think Garko is ok but lets not fool ourselves. If he was a dominant hitter he would not have been traded. He has been very streaky in the past and hasnt really lived up to his first round draft status coming out of Stanford. Now, he can be a nice addition to the Giants but he certainly is not a middle of the order power hitter than you can depend on in my opinion. I do like that he hits LH pitching well as this is a big need for the Giants.

As far as your statement that any trades that makes you better is a good deal.. well it depends on the time frame. Sure, Garko makes the team better now but in 3 years this deal might not look very good. When you are trading a top prospect the jury is out for a while on how that trade really will end up. It could be great... or it could be horrible. Time will tell.

My biggest problem with the trade is that the Giants gave up arguably their 5th best prospect in their organization. Boston gave up 2 very minor prospects for LaRoache. I believe that Cleveland saw the desparation from Sabean and leveraged that to get a better prospect than they should have. Yes, the Giants have Bumgarner, Alderson, and Wheeler (After he signs) but you can never have enough good young pitching. To me.. I would have preferred holding on to Barnes or packaging him with someone else to get more of an impact hitter later on.

Originally posted by mayo63:
He'll just come cheaper. He's a legit .300 hitter and is more than marginal defensively. It just means that the stars are aligning for him to become a Giant. Make it happen Sabean.

I doubt Sanchez comes "cheap". Teams know that Sabean overpays and is desparate right now to save his job. My guess is the team will have to give up 2 or 3 solid prospects for him. If the Giants can trade Bowker and Sadowski for him(as an example).. great. Make the deal. If they have to give up their young front line kids.. well I would have a problem with that.

I think there is a great chance that Sanchez does come to the Giants by the end of the week. I am just holding my breath that Sabean doesnt give up way too much for him.

Originally posted by Giantjohn:
I think Garko is ok but lets not fool ourselves. If he was a dominant hitter he would not have been traded. He has been very streaky in the past and hasnt really lived up to his first round draft status coming out of Stanford. Now, he can be a nice addition to the Giants but he certainly is not a middle of the order power hitter than you can depend on in my opinion. I do like that he hits LH pitching well as this is a big need for the Giants.

As far as your statement that any trades that makes you better is a good deal.. well it depends on the time frame. Sure, Garko makes the team better now but in 3 years this deal might not look very good. When you are trading a top prospect the jury is out for a while on how that trade really will end up. It could be great... or it could be horrible. Time will tell.

My biggest problem with the trade is that the Giants gave up arguably their 5th best prospect in their organization. Boston gave up 2 very minor prospects for LaRoache. I believe that Cleveland saw the desparation from Sabean and leveraged that to get a better prospect than they should have. Yes, the Giants have Bumgarner, Alderson, and Wheeler (After he signs) but you can never have enough good young pitching. To me.. I would have preferred holding on to Barnes or packaging him with someone else to get more of an impact hitter later on.

You are right about seeing how it plays out.

Over the years the Giants have trade a lot of future ptiching prospects for players that didn't measure up over the long haul.

Liriano is one everyone points to but he was somewhat dmaged goods and has had just 1 stellar season.

Put the names Ainsworth, Foppert, Jensen, Vogelsong, out there as other guys we've moved in deadline deals and you like the odds over the short haul becuase prospects are just that prospects.

Certainly the guys (baseball insiders) have their take...


Ryan Garko - 1B - San Francisco Giants Toads (Active) Monday Jul. 27, 2009
Giants acquired 1B Ryan Garko from the Indians for LHP Scott Barnes.
Garko provides a substantial offensive upgrade over Travis Ishikawa, especially against left-handed hitters. The 28-year-old was batting .285/.362/.464 in Cleveland with 11 home runs and 39 RBI. He's cheap, and under team control through 2012. Garko might not be the answer to San Francisco's offensive struggles, but he'll no doubt help. Jul. 27 - 11:13 pm et


Scott M. Barnes - S - Cleveland Indians (Active) Monday Jul. 27, 2009
Indians acquired LHP Scott Barnes from the Giants for 1B Ryan Garko.
Barnes, 21, was 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA in 18 starts for Single-A San Jose, leading the California League in wins and placing second in earned-run average. He was ranked as the Indians' ninth best prospect by Baseball America before the season and appears headed for a decent major league career. Whether it'll be as a starter or reliever remains to be seen. Jul. 27 - 11:09 pm et


And they think as you do that Barnes will have a decent major league career.

I said I liked his size and he may have a lot more potential than the others mentioned above but he was in single A and at least a year away and blocked by 2 other starters I believe Sabean isn't allowed to touch because even some of the "vanilla" fans know who THEY are, even if Barnes may have more long haul upside base on his frame.

Garko is a year younger than Laroche and more controllable/tradeable in the future. He also has similar numbers this year in fewer at bats taken while further away from the heart of an order. (albeit a more productive overall order). He is what Sabean could bring because he not allowed to touch certain tools in the toolshed due to perceived value.

Hopefully he continues to try to do more with less than the full compliment.

bottom line...

we traded a prospect who was a few years away from making an impact, and may never pan out completely...

...for a legitimate and experienced 1st basemen who can spot start at catcher and OF, and who is immediatly the 2nd or 3rd best hitter in our lineup.

giants fans are way too obsessed with "prospects". I love some ofour young guys in the system, but we dont need 8 starting pitchers, and we do need bats.

awesome trade, end of story.