Giants acquire Pagan for Torres and Ramirez
Posted on December 7, 2011
Angel Pagan of the New York Mets waits in the on deck circle against the San Francisco Giants during the game at AT&T Park on Sunday, July 9, 2011 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Everyone knows the Giants will have to do all they can in 2012 to get by with great pitching and a mediocre offense. There is no money for them to go out and get a big thumper like Albert Pujols. They have to mix and match, dump salaries, do some creative math, stay healthy, and catch lightning in a bottle to get back to the playoffs again. They took a big step in that direction late tonight by sending Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez to the Mets in exchange for center fielder Angel Pagan. Do I have any pictures of Pagan in my archive? You bet!
Angel Pagan #16 of the New York Mets enters the dugout before the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on July 18, 2010 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
What does this trade do for the Giants? Well, they sent two guys coming off poor seasons to the Mets in exchange for a lead-off guy coming off a sub-par year at Citi Field. Who knows what will happen in 2012, but as of now the Mets feel that Torres might be a defensive upgrade in center field as Pagan made 10 errors for them last season. Pagan is a few years younger than Torres and stole 32 bases last season. Pagan might be the real lead-off guy the Giants have been looking for.
Bats belonging to Angel Pagan of the New York Mets sit in the bat rack in the Mets dugout before the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on Sunday, July 9, 2011 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
Torres will be missed by the fans in San Francisco. He will forever be in their hearts as a key cog in the 2010 Giants World Series run. He won the Willie Mac Award that year and is only expendable because of the down season he had in 2011. He hit only .221 over 348 at bats and never got it going after pulling a hamstring on the second game of the home season on a cold Saturday night in April. The Giants wore their special gold-lettered versions of their uniforms celebrating their World Championship status on that night, and it was bad luck for Torres.
Angel Pagan #16 of the New York Mets bats against the San Francisco Giants during the game at AT&T Park on July 18, 2010 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
One thing is for sure, I will now have another new guy to shoot at AT&T Park in 2012, and that is always a fun thing. As for Ramirez? He was terrific down the stretch in 2010 after a late- season trade. However, he never got it going last season and was expendable. As usual, I see the Giants having an unsettled outfield next season, mixing and matching every day depending on who is pitching, who is hot, who is not, etc. Sound familiar?
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