The MLB trade deadline is over, and Giants pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith stayed put.
That wasn't a given entering the season, but San Francisco's red-hot June and July showed just how quickly things changed for Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. Still, Zaidi did re-stock the prospect cupboard a bit Wednesday, trading relievers Ray Black, Drew Pomeranz, Sam Dyson and Mark Melancon in three different deals.
Now that the dust has settled, how did the Giants do? Here's how pundits around the country rated Zaidi's first trade deadline at the Giants' organizational helm.
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Grades
Mike Axisa, CBS Sports
Grade: B
What they're saying: "On one hand, I thought the Giants should've moved Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith. I'm not sold on San Francisco being a contender when they're winning nothing but one-run games because guys like Austin Slater and Alex Dickerson are playing way over their heads. On the other hand, I respect keeping Bumgarner and Smith and going for it, which surely fired up the clubhouse."
Emma Baccellieri, Sports Illustrated
Grade: A
What they're saying: "They got better for the future. But they didn’t get meaningfully worse for right now. In other words, they were able to keep themselves in the wild-card race, to the extent that they were ever in it, without missing an opportunity to beef up their farm system—a tough needle to thread, but they pulled it off wonderfully."
Zachary D. Rymer, Bleacher Report
San Francisco Giants
Sam Dyson trade grade: B-
What they're saying: "At first glance, this is a light return for a late-inning reliever with control beyond 2019. Per Baseball America, none of these three prospects ranked among Minnesota's top 30. But if nothing else, the Giants can dream on Davis' power. The 25-year-old has put up a .954 OPS and 25 home runs at Double-A and Triple-A this season."
Mark Melancon trade grade: A
What they're saying: "In Winkler, the Giants are getting a guy who can be slotted right into Melancon's vacant spot in their bullpen. ... Beck, meanwhile, ranked as the Braves' No. 30 prospect at Baseball America. Armed with a solid fastball-changeup combination, he's struck out 53 batters in 45.2 innings in the low minors this season. In short, the Giants turned an albatross contract into two usable players."
Drew Pomeranz and Ray Black trade grade: A
What they're saying: "Dubon, 25, has little power but he makes up for that with a solid hit tool—he's hit .297 at Triple-A this season—plus good speed and defensive capabilities. He could take over at second base for Joe Panik, who's far from the All-Star and Gold Glover he once was."
[RELATED: What will happen to Panik now that Giants have Gennett?]
Winners or losers?
Mike Oz, Yahoo Sports: Winners
What they said: "They didn’t make the prudent move -- which would have been trading Madison Bumgarne -- but they still managed to not look like trade-deadline losers. In this case, the lack of a power move wasn’t that bad of a thing. They keep MadBum, but flipped some of their bullpen assets. They didn’t trade Will Smith, their top reliever, but managed to get the Braves to take on the rest of Mark Melancon’s over-bloated contract. That alone is a win. ... Truth is, new team president Farhan Zaidi is in a tough spot. He should be rebuilding but his overachieving team has put him in a place where they can’t just fold. Given the situation, he did pretty well."
Michael Baumann, The Ringer: Mixed Results
What they said: "After straddling the line between buying and selling, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi did a little of both, sending cash to Cincinnati for Gennett to fill the Joe Panik–shaped hole at second base. If Gennett doesn’t pan out, Dubon, acquired from Milwaukee for Pomeranz and Black, would be an able replacement. ... Zaidi did well to swipe Dubon from Milwaukee, and he got Atlanta to eat Melancon’s entire contract, but like the Mets, it’s hard to pin down exactly what the Giants’ plan is, or even how good the front office thinks the team is."