MLB trade grades: How experts rated Giants’ Cobb, Canha deals

MLB trade grades: How experts rated Giants’ Cobb, Canha deals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants made a handful of moves at the MLB trade deadline, but none of them were exactly seismic transactions.

San Francisco dealing designated hitter Jorge Soler and relief pitcher Luke Jackson to the Atlanta Braves on Monday night perhaps was the biggest move president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and Co. made this week.

The Giants snuck in a few trades before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. PT deadline, including trading veteran starting pitcher Alex Cobb to the Cleveland Guardians, relief pitcher Mike Baumann to the Los Angeles Angels and acquiring outfielder Mark Canha in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.

None of the moves were major by any means, but helped the Giants free up salary, open up opportunities for young players and bolster the bench with veteran depth.

Here’s how MLB experts graded San Francisco’s deadline moves:

“The Giants reduced their future financial exposure by trading Jorge Soler and Alex Cobb, but they didn’t do much to improve their chances of making the playoffs this year outside of bringing in left-handed reliever Tyler Matzek and right-handed hitter Mark Canha, who has power and can draw walks coming off the bench,” Jim Bowden wrote.

“They listened on Blake Snell, but that’s all they did. They now have to hope that Snell and Robbie Ray can perform like the Cy Young Award winners they’ve been in the past, and along with the rest of the staff, just try to pitch themselves to the postseason. I just question if this offense is good enough to get them there.”

Grade for all Giants deadline trades: D

Canha trade:

“Canha is having a rough year by his standards, posting a sub-.700 OPS for the first time since he was a 28-year-old lad for the A’s back in 2017,” Zachary Rymer wrote. “He can, however, still give left-handers a hard time. Whereas he has a .639 OPS against righties, he’s exploited the platoon advantage for an .857 OPS against southpaws.

“Most teams would only have so much use for a right-handed-hitting platoon guy, but the Giants can use Canha in tandem with lefty hitters at first base and in both corner outfield spots. Even if it’s just a little bit, he can help the team’s playoff push.”

Grade for Giants: B
Grade for Tigers: C

Cobb trade:

“Assuming they’re not eating any of it, the Giants are offloading the $3.3 million still left on Cobb’s $10 million salary,” Rymer added. “It’s not as much as their Jorge Soler savings, but it’s something. That the Giants are also getting a prospect back is a nice bonus, even if said prospect is only a projectable 19-year-old lefty who only recently made his Single-A debut. He isn’t much more than a lottery ticket.

“My gripe with this trade is more philosophical. After the Soler trade, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hinted that the Giants wouldn’t be making any more cuts. But then they did this, thus dealing yet another self-inflicted blow to their playoff hopes.”

Grade for Giants: C
Grade for Guardians: A

“The Guardians are buying incredibly low on Alex Cobb as they improve what’s turned out to be a lackluster rotation,” Zachary Rotman wrote. “Cobb has missed the entire season with shoulder and hip injuries, but he’s nearing a return. In fact, he was ready to return but missed his last scheduled start due to a blister. It won’t be long before he’s pitching for Cleveland.

“Unless the player to be named later is a bigger name, it’s hard to see the Giants as winners right now, especially if they don’t continue to sell and deal Snell. The Giants didn’t have much leverage considering the fact that Cobb is hitting free agency at the end of the year and hasn’t pitched at all this season, but with how much of a seller’s market this has turned out to be, Cleveland did pretty well here to add a starter of Cobb’s track record without giving up too much.”

Grade for Giants: C
Grade for Guardians: B+

“It wasn’t so much about the players coming back to the Giants as it was about exiting the Soler contract since they had some buyer’s remorse despite his 116 OPS+ bat. They also wanted to clear room for Marco Luciano,” Andrew Mearns wrote. “They might regret also not trading Blake Snell and Matt Chapman, who could both opt out. While they’re not in great Wild Card shape, they’re seemingly just holding on.

“How many years of leeway did the stunning 2021 buy Farhan Zaidi as the Giants’ president of baseball operations? If they miss the playoffs again, we might begin to see him sweat. Oh, and Mark Canha is now here because… Bob Melvin still likes him a lot? That sounds right. Or maybe Patrick Dubuque of Baseball Prospectus is onto something here.”

Grade for all Giants deadline trades: D

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