When To Pay Too Much

Andrew Baggarly believes the Giants paid a steep price to the Brewers for reliever Will Smith, namely RHP Phil Bickford:

It’s a mild surprise, though, that the Giants would sacrifice Bickford for a middle reliever. Scouts have long coveted the 21-year-old’s explosive right arm; he was twice taken in the first round, going 10th overall to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013 (and did not sign) before the Giants took him 18th overall in 2015.

Bickford was 3-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 11 starts for Low-A Augusta before moving up to Single-A San Jose, where he struck out 14 in his first start. He was 2-2 with a 2.73 ERA in six starts for San Jose. Overall he had 105 strikeouts in 93 innings. Bickford also represented the Giants in the All-Star Futures Game.

I understand the Nationals, Rangers, Indians, and Cubs sending a lot of talent away to win now. These clubs have never won, or haven’t won in so long it feels like never. The Giants won three World Series in the previous six seasons. With their starting pitching a bit shaky, it seems that now is not the right time to trade a potential good starter for a reliever. Then again, the Giants know what it is like to go decades without a championship, and quite possibly don’t want that to happen again.

I don’t know if Smith will look good in the orange and black, but we know he looks good in black.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2add2rR