Hot Stove

You are entirely forgiven, Niners. The Giants do allow me magnanimity...

I'm struggling to understand why Beane would trade Derrick Norris for Jesse Hahn. Both 26, catchers who hit seem the rarer commodity. However, Hahn is under control for 2 more years so that is a point in Beane's favor. Beane must have really been turned off by Norris' second half performance, and probably thinks that this can be justified slightly as a "win now" move with Vogt and Jaso still available and catcher and with their rotation depleted. I still wouldn't have done it.

Firstly, Beane clearly disagrees with your low estimation of hard-throwing right-handed relievers. Hahn does throw hard, pitched well last year, and immediately replaces the departed Gregerson. They also got R.J. Alvarez, who also throws hard, and pitched really well last year, including a nice stint with the Padres.

As to Norris, I liked him too, but he still hits lefties a lot better than righties, and with Butler taking over at DH, Jaso was going to get most of the catching ABs against them. I definitely wouldn't call this a "win now" trade. Considering Beane just traded away Samardzija and Moss for Semien and prospects, he doesn't seem confident in them making the playoffs this year. It was more like a trade of surplus for need and a piece of the future. I think Beane did OK.

Hahn was a starter for the Padres, not a reliever, and the scuttlebutt is that Beane also intends to use him to replace Samardjzia's spot in the rotation. And I hope so because trading a 26 year old catcher with a .360 obp last year for a reliever is heavily imbalanced. This could work out fine for the A's given the two extra years of control + concerns about Norris' 2nd half and defense. But it's a risky move to get rid of a catcher of that quality. Yes, hahn pitched well over 12 starts last year. Norris has a longer track record extending back a couple years, but of course that's why Hahn remains under control for longer.

You are right. Maybe he agrees with your estimation of them after all. I agree with you about Norris' talent; he is talented. However, so are Hahn and Alvarez. As I said before, signing Butler and moving Jaso--who hits righties well--to catcher left little room for Norris. Getting a hard-throwing young starter who has pitched well and a promising hard-throwing reliever for him is a good get. On the other side, the Padres got a good get in Norris who is a superior replacement for Grandal.

Braves OF as of this posting....

LF ?
CF BJ Upton
RF?

Slamming my head into my desk repeatedly after learning that the Padres get Upton while the Giants respond with...Peavy? This sucks.

Hopefully the friars will toss Smith or Venable to my Mariners to complete the Ruggiano platoon.

Slamming my head into my desk repeatedly after learning that the Padres get Upton while the Giants respond with...Peavy? This sucks.

Wow, couldn't agree with you more. Although somehow Sabean always ends up making the right moves, similar to Ozzie Newsome for the Ravens. Plus this is the odd year for the Giants, we need to wait to 2016 for another WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.

JT

Well, the Braves definitely aren't trying to win now. Considering they'll be breaking in Peraza, Bethancourt, and possibly Jason Hursh this year, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Getting SD's top prospect, Max Fried, a hard-throwing left-hander with legitimate Ace/#2 potential, will definitely help the Braves' future and is a nice return for a player with one year left. Gattis is obviously the guy in Lf, and Rf remains a mystery.

The Padres obviously think they can win it--or at least legitimately compete--this year with their brand new outfield. If they don't--and I doubt they can--trading away Fried for one year of Upton will hurt. The Giants can win it this year, and could really have used Upton, but they don't come close to having a Fried in their system. They had a nice run of 1st-rd picks for awhile--Cain, Lincecum, Bumgarner, Posey, Wheeler (ugh)--but they haven't drafted well lately, and their weakness is their poor cache of minor-league talent. It kept them from getting Upton and won't help them get too much this off-season.

Peavy at his age, and with his performance and drop in velocity in his last 4-5 starts, seems like a reach. Bochy loves him, though, and the Giants are desperate, so I can only hope those last few starts were a fluke.