Giants & Brewers Looking At Possible Trades

It’s almost turning into a Major League Baseball version of spin the bottle. Which Brewer are the Giants going to get?!?! It almost seems inevitable.

Brian Sabean (who does travel with the team occasionally) has made the trip to Milwaukee to watch the Giants battle the Brewers – but, that’s not the story. It’s well known that the Brew-Crew and the Gigantes have been engaged in trade talks since Christoper Columbus was wondering the ocean blue, but Sabes has brought along his premier MLB scouts – including his main man Lee Elder.

In addition to that, reports out of Milwaukee say that the Brewers had a large pow-wow which involved their scouts and front office personal prior to yesterdays game.

The Giants seem to have interest in just about anybody wearing the gold and green – the most well known being Prince Fielder, but reports have emerged that the Giants are also extremely high on Corey Hart as well as Todd Coffey. Hart is arbitration eligible at season end, which has to be a concern since he’s due for a large pay increase thanks in part to his terrific first half of the season. He also strikes me as a prime candidate to slow down come the second half, so, I’m personally not a big fan of a Hart trade unless it’s for a spare part – something I doubt the Brewers would have interest in.

The G-men’s bullpen, one of the strengths of last years squad, has been struggling pretty bad this year. And while Brewers relief pitching Todd Coffey hasn’t been anything special, he’s a seasoned vet out of the pen with only twelve walks in 30 innings – a stat that should make any Giant fan swoon. Along with that, his price tag will be relatively cheap for a bullpen upgrade.

Last but not least, it’s the Prince. The Giants have been the rumored destination for about two years now – first it was for Lincecum. Then the rumor was for Cain. Now, it’s for Jonathan Sanchez. The hang up appears to be the additional prospect being sent with Sanchez. The Brewers seem determined to snag an elite level prospect from the Giants such as Thomas Neal – a move the Giants brass continually balks at. For what it’s worth, when polled here at Frisco Fastball, Giant fans made it known they don’t feel the same way as the front office.

As for my opinion? I’ve let it be known I’m not big on a Hart trade. If it’s for a low level prospect, that’s fine – but he’s more or less going to be a rental (no way I’m paying him what he will ask for in arbitration) and he’s really nothing special with the stick. Pat Burrell could put up the same stats with similar playing time and I’m not sure his defense is that much better. I’m all for a bullpen upgrade, of course, assuming the price is right – and I’m sure it would be for a guy like Coffey. And as for the big gun, Prince? I’m a bit torn. I’m okay with trading Sanchez for him, it’s the prospect that is hanging me up. Push comes to shove, we’ll see who blinks first.

The Brewers and Giants are both in a questionable place right now – do they become buyers or sellers? We’ll see in a few weeks, but make no mistake about it – if the Giants go on a bit of a run and become buyers, the Brewers are going to be at the top of their wish list.