The defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants finalized a trade Thursday to acquire the Carlos Beltran and cash from the New York Mets, upgrading their fluctuating offense. Beltran first had to approve the deal to the Giants.
New York’s requisition in the swap is the Giant’s pitching prospect Zachary Wheeler, who is 7-5 with a 3.99 ERA in 16 starts for San Francisco’s high Class-A affiliate in San Jose. The Giants selected Wheeler with the No. 6 pick in the 2009 draft.
The 34-year-old Beltran leads the National League with 30 doubles and is batting .289 with 15 homers and 66 RBIs.
The Giants’ general manager Brian Sabean was quoted on the the trade “When you’re defending world champions, you do have to try to defend that title any way you can… We’re in first place. Hopefully we show we mean business. … Simply put, we’re thrilled with bringing Carlos on board. We really felt the organization needed a shot in the arm and more so our lineup.” Sabean stated.
The Giants are currently batting .241 with 66 homers and 373 runs scored, all of these numbers rank near the bottom of the National League this season. No Giants player on the roster has more than nine home runs. The closest player to Beltran in RBIs is Aubrey Huff with 47 RBIs.
With the way that the Giants’ bats have been this season, it is safe to assume that Beltran will be an immediate upgrade to this inconsistent offense. With the loss of Buster Posey this season, Carlos Beltran will be a great addition to this offense, and could even lead the Giants back to the promised land that is the World Series.
