The Trade:
Indians send Ryan Garko to the Giants for Class A lefty Scott Barnes.
On Paper:
The Giants are trying to make a wildcard push and need some help with the bats. The Indians are trading for parts.
Best Case Scenario for the Giants:
Garko puts more players in their correct spots in the lineup and the Giants, with their pitching, produce enough runs to win.
Best Case scenario for the Indians:
Barnes becomes a big league starter.
Worst Case Scenario for the Giants:
Barnes is a diamond in the rough and Garko is Travis Ishikawa plus a few years.
Worst Case Scenario for the Indians:
Barnes never makes it.
Bottom Line:
The Indians always seem to have a glut of talented hitters with no position to play. With Andy Marte ready to go and Matt LaPorta on his way, Garko was expendable. What the Indians got was the Number 9 prospect in the Giants system and a potential solid lefty. Barnes hasn't yet made the jump to AA ball, where the real test comes, but he's put up respectable numbers to date. As for the Giants, they get a solid, but not game-changing, bat. His OPS+ is 114, which makes him the second best bat in that lineup behind Pablo Sandoval. As the Giants lack any sort of offense threat outside of the Panda, Garko is a marked improvement. What will probably happen is Garko and Travis Ishikawa, who is breaking onto the scene nicely in San Francisco, will go into some sort of platoon. Garko may even see some time in the outfield just to stay in the lineup. While this is no blockbuster, both teams seem to have won out. The Indians don't have to pay Garko (he's arbitration eligible this offseason) and get a decent prospect, and the Giants deal from an organizational strength and get some offense. We'll see who "wins" when all is said and done with young Scott Barnes.
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