Marlon Byrd has value.
It is tangible. It’s not like saying he brings leadership or veteran experience to a clubhouse. Those things can’t be measured. And who knows if they actually help? Especially when a team already possesses such qualities across its rows of lockers.
Byrd hits for power, and he currently has his health. For the San Francisco Giants, those things are entirely valuable right now. Going into the season’s final six or so weeks, Byrd’s bat plays for the defending World Series champions, a team injured in the outfield and in its lineup by the absences of Hunter Pence and Joe Panik.
“He still has some old-man strength,” Leake, a teammate of Byrd’s earlier this season with the Cincinnati Reds, told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I think he’ll help out.”
There’s no reason to doubt that. Byrd has 19 home runs this season, which is his biggest draw, since his OBP was .286, and his OPS-plus was 98 playing mostly in hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. Sticking him in the outfield with Pence gone gives the Giant at least a power presence.
And while Byrd’s numbers at AT&T Park aren’t great—.216 average and .263 OBP—he has hit for power with four homers in 20 games. And maybe some icing on the cake is that he pounds Dodgers pitching at Dodger Stadium to the tune of .356/.387/.529 with six doubles and three homers in 93 plate appearances.
The Giants have been hit hard by injuries, as have several other contenders in the National League, and are now 2.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and four behind the Chicago Cubs for the second wild-card spot. Byrd gives them coverage in the outfield with Pence and Nori Aoki both spending multiple stints on the disabled list this year. Plus, the Giants do not expect to have All-Star second baseman Panik back until next month.
“I'm excited," Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters, via the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "Marlon is a real pro who knows how to play the game and, most importantly, gives us a much-needed bat.”
The move comes A day after their archrivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, made a similar move to bolster their ailing lineup with Chase Utley. And while the trade does not address the team’s biggest need, much like the Utley trade, Mike Leake’s return to the rotation in the coming days could do exactly that for the Giants.
And if Leake is right, his return could be more impactful than the deal for Byrd.
The Giants’ rotation has struggled in the second half outside of ace Madison Bumgarner and Leake’s one start before pulling a hamstring after his trade. Taking out the second-half innings of those two, San Francisco’s rotation has a 4.38 ERA since the All-Star break after Jake Peavy gave up four runs in six innings Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
Aside from Peavy, Matt Cain and Chris Heston have also been points of concern recently. In Cain’s four August starts, which included a solid six-inning, two-run performance in St. Louis on Wednesday, he has a 7.32 ERA and 7.02 FIP, costing the Giants about a half a win (h/t Matt Goldman of MLB Daily Dish). Heston has not been much better, showing a 4.58 ERA, 6.11 FIP and also costing the Giants in wins in his four turns.
Ryan Vogelsong has been good since returning to the rotation this month, posting a 2.40 ERA in three outings. But none of them have lasted longer than six innings, as he has not been at all efficient with his pitches. Considering the Giants have holes in other rotation spots, that lack of length could end up taxing what has been a pretty good bullpen in the second half.
“They aren’t overly confident in their starting rotation,” Fox Sports 1 MLB analyst C.J. Nitkowski said on the network Thursday. “They have the great ace in Madison Bumgarner [but] there’s a reason they went out and got Mike Leake. There’s a reason Tim Hudson went on the DL then they pushed him to the bullpen. Right now these guys are not helping. Tim Lincecum is not there. Matt Cain has been struggling.
“Overall, when you look at this starting rotation, you’re not overly inspired. You’re just hoping they can get it together.” CSN Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic reported on Leake:
Mike Leake told me he's running at 75 percent now, doesn't feel pain while pitching. Giants pretty confident he can return Sunday.
— Alex Pavlovic (@AlexPavlovic) August 19, 2015
That is why Leake could be a significant upgrade. In his five starts before going on the DL, four of those with the Reds, he had a 0.99 ERA and averaged over seven innings a game. If that is the Leake who comes back in the coming days, he will be a massive upgrade to a shaky rotation.
Byrd and Leake are two former Reds who were going nowhere with Cincinnati, but given the state of the Giants at this point of the season, they could both be playing significant roles in this year’s playoff races.
Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.
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