SF Giants did well in trade return for Reiver Sanmartín with Washington Nationals

On Friday, the SF Giants completed another trade with the Washington Nationals. They acquired minor league reliever Robert Cranz in exchange for Reiver Sanmartín, per a team announcement.

Sanmartín was impacted by the roster purge from earlier this week. This marks the third move between the two organizations within the past seven days. Nate Furman was traded to them in exchange for Tony Neubeck, and the club lost Braxton Roxby on waivers to Washington as well.

This feels eerily reminiscent of how the Giants and Seattle Mariners conducted business not that long ago. I suppose the Giants and Nationals would need to make another 30 trades before they reach that level of a partnership.

The Giants did well to get anything in return for Sanmartín. He posted a 4.22 ERA in 24 appearances for San Francisco in 2026. This came with a stout 63.8 percent ground ball rate. Sanmartín did not miss a lot of bats, but he did a nice job of keeping the ball on the ground.

The Giants need to upgrade the bullpen, and Sanmartín is out of options, so it was hard to envision a role for him next year. That said, placing him on waivers did magnify the club's need to add more left-handed bullpen depth, as Sam Hentges is currently the No. 1 option.

SF Giants net decent upside in trade that sent Reiver Sanmartín to the Washington Nationals

In return, the Giants receive a fun arm in Robert Cranz. It should be noted that he was not on the Nationals' 40-man roster and is not eligible for the Rule 5 draft until next winter. Cranz will be assigned to a minor league affiliate.

Cranz only has 95.2 innings as a pro to his ledger, as he has missed time on the injured list. When healthy, he has a strong pitch mix, consisting of a mid 90's four-seamer with a cutter, sweeper and changeup. All four pitches grade out favorably, and the four-seamer has some interesting pitch shape characteristics, including an average spin rate of 2,435 RPM and over 19 inches of induced vertical break.

Cranz throws from an over-the-top release point, but he gets below-average extension. He has tallied a healthy 12.0 K/9 in his minor league career, but it comes with a lot of walks as well. There is no question about Cranz's stuff. In fact, if he had better control and durability, he would likely be stretched out as a starter.

That said, the 23-year-old pitcher has the control of a reliever, and that is a fine outcome in return for Reiver Sanmartín. Cranz might turn into a reliable reliever at the major league level, or he may continue to struggle to throw strikes in Triple-A. The upside is worth more than what they gave up.

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