Giants Add Beckham For Final Days
| THE DEAL |
The struggling Giants acquired Gordon Beckham from the Braves on Tuesday night in an attempt to shore up their infield as they make a desperate playoff push. The Braves received minor league middle infielder Rich Rodriguez in return.
Beckham provides a righthanded platoon option for second baseman Joe Panik and shortstop Brandon Crawford, both lefthanded hitters that have struggled against same-side pitchers this season (Panik .231/.296/.308 vs. LHP, Crawford .267/.325/.375).
The Giants currently occupy the second NL wild card spot, one game ahead of the Cardinals. They are scheduled to face a lefthanded starter twice in their final five games.
 BRAVES ACQUIRE Rich Rodriguez, 2b/ss Age: 23 |
The Giants signed Rodriguez as 17-year old international free agent out of Venezuela in 2010 and brought him along slowly, keeping him the Dominican League for four seasons before bringing him stateside for the first time in 2015. Rodriguez can play all four infield positions and fill in at a corner outfield spot when needed but doesn’t offer much with the bat. He doesn’t have a single home run in 927 career plate appearances and only 18 doubles for a measly .291 career slugging percentage. He has largely been a minor league bench player since coming to the U.S., playing in only 36 games in 2015 and 37 games in 2016. He struggled with injuries this past season, going on the disabled list three separate times.
| Club (League) | Class | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento (PCL) | AAA | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| San Jose (CAL) | HiA | .174 | 36 | 109 | 9 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 2 | .209 | .183 |
 GIANTS ACQUIRE Gordon Beckham, 2b Age: 30 |
Beckham never quite lived up to lofty expectations after the White Sox picked him eighth the 2008 draft and he had a sterling rookie debut a year later, but has still carved out a long major league career. Now in his eighth season, Beckham has been effective against lefthanded starters this year, posting a .250/.323/.455 slash line with four home runs in 24 games against them for the Braves. He’s experienced playing second, third and shortstop, although Baseball-Reference.com’s advanced metrics rate him below-average at each spot. He will not be eligible for the Giants postseason roster, but will likely see time against Dodgers lefthanders Rich Hill and Clayton Kershaw during the Giants crucial season-ending series.
| Club (League) | Class | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gwinnett (IL) | AAA | .333 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .385 | .500 |
| Braves (GCL) | R | .200 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .182 | .300 |
| Carolina (CAR) | HiA | .625 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 1.125 |
| Atlanta (NL) | MAJ | .217 | 85 | 240 | 25 | 52 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 30 | 26 | 50 | 1 | .300 | .346 |
Comments are closed.