Hunter Pence is the biggest position player with a reasonable chance of being traded before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline on Wednesday. The Giants have several desirable players, but Pence is the gem of that group. There’s no indication that he’s guaranteed to be dealt, but with so many teams in need of hitting, Pence could find himself with a new zip code by Wednesday’s trade deadline.
Pence is on the radar of several teams for a lot of reasons.
First, the financial aspect is extremely manageable. Pence is making $13.8 million this year, but he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. While he’s only potentially a rental player if his new team can’t re-sign him, the situation is better than paying an unproductive player for several more seasons. That will be attractive to teams that may not want to commit to a player who will be on their books for years to come.
Pence has also been unbelievably steady as an offensive player since arriving in the major leagues. In 2007, he finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting with 17 home runs and a .322 batting average. Since then, every year he has hit at least 22 home runs. Pence has never hit more than 25 in a season, but there’s something to be a said for a solid 20-25 long balls a season. The outfielder also hits for average. While he’s declined a bit in that area from his earlier years, he’s still a career .285 hitter and is batting .277 this season.
Defensively, he has held his own. Pence isn’t a Gold Glove outfielder as evidenced by his high number of errors, but he often ranks near the top of the league’s right fielders in putouts and double plays. He also has led the league in assists for his position in four of the past five years and, overall, is a decent fielder.
One downside? Pence hasn’t been a great postseason player. He has only one home run in 81 at-bats over four playoff series and is batting a mere .210. Twenty-one playoff games isn’t a gigantic sample size, but you can bet teams have paid attention to those numbers.
Still, the offense is too much to ignore and at only 30 his new team could offer him a contract with the knowledge that he should still be around for many more seasons to come. With all that in mind, there are a few viable candidates for his services.
You can count the Texas Rangers as one who may be interested. Texas needs offense and has already made a big splash in landing pitcher Matt Garza. Having given up so much in that deal they may not be interested in moving the prospects needed to land Pence. The Pirates are another team that has reportedly shown some interest in him. That’s not surprising considering the team’s glaring hole in right field. Pittsburgh also was believed to have some interest in Pence last year before he was traded to the Giants.
Two teams, the Yankees and Reds, also have inquired about the outfielder. However, as CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman notes, there’s not much of a fit. That’s particularly true with the Yankees as New York’s outfield is crowded with the recent addition of Alfonso Soriano. The Yankees not only have Brent Gardner manning center field and Ichiro in right, but also have Vernon Wells in left. Designated hitter would be an option but the odd man out between Soriano and Wells generally fills that role. There’s really not much room for another outfielder and even though Pence is a slight upgrade over Wells, the price tag to acquire him is likely too high.
Pence could be dealt but it will come down to asking price and the right fit. With so many teams in need of an outfielder, San Francisco may be in a brief position of power when it comes to dealing a player of Pence’s ability.
