The CBS affiliate in San Francisco, KPIX's sports director Dennis O'Donnell, is reporting that the Phillies have a deal in place to send Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants. The deal is in place, pending the owner's approval (presumably because the Giants have to take on payroll outside of their budgeted amount).
I'm fine with trading Pence, even though he is one of the best players on this team. This team is done. While he's a fine player, I don't think I'd give him a long term extension beyond next year, nor am I crazy about giving him $13-15 million next year. So, moving him is fine. Using the top ten players in their system, from Baseball America, here are a couple of names for you to remember-
- Gary Brown- CF- He's their top rated prospect, and a real speedster. He was the 24th pick in 2010 out of Cal-State Fullerton. He's ranked 38th in all of baseball, he's hitting .290 this year, with a .351 OBP. In 2011, in high A ball, he had a .336 batting average and .925 OPS.
- Brandon Belt- 1B/OF- Belt was their top guy in the system before getting called up last year. He's struggled to a .237 average in 2012, and a .718 career OPS, but is posting a .342 OBP this year, and is just 24 years old. He could play a corner outfield slot fine.
- Tommy Joseph- C/1B- He's their #2 rated prospect, and plays a couple of positions. For a lot of reasons, I don't think he's going anywhere, most notably the symmetry of positions with one Buster Posey (and the relief he can provide behind the plate). He's only hitting .260 on the year in AA, but that's not bad for the position. He's only 20.
- Kyle Crick- He's their #8 rated prospect, and was a 2011 #49 pick. He's 19, but has posted a 2.69 ERA in A Ball.
- Hector Sanchez- He was their #10 prospect, and has played as a back-up on the big league level, hitting .281 this year in 128 AB's.
I would say at least one of the top two should be in a deal, and two of the five. If these are the names you end up seeing, don't be too upset to see Hunter go.
