Hunter Pence Traded by Phillies to Giants

Hunter Pence has been one of the more productive Phillies on the offensive side of things.  He also quickly

became a fan-favorite last season.  Despite that, the Phillies have traded him to the San Francisco Giants for Nate Schierholtz, Tommy Joseph, and Seth Rosin.

Pence is hitting .271/.336/.447 with 17 home runs this season.  In his career, he is a .290/.342/.481 hitter.  He was traded to the Phillies last season at the deadline from the Houston Astros, so this marks his second summer in which he has to switch uniforms.

Pence is not a free agent until 2014, so this deal is more than a half-season rental for the Giants.  That explains the players they gave up to make this deal.  The Giants needed more offense, and Pence will add that.

Schierholtz, also an outfielder like Pence, lacked Pence’s power.  He was hitting .257/.327/.429 at the time of the trade.  He is a career .270 hitter but has never hit more than nine home runs in a single season.

Tommy Joseph and Seth Rosin are still in the minors.  Joseph, a 21-year old catcher, is currently playing at Double-A.  He is hitting .260/.313/.391.  Overall, Joseph has played 324 minor league games and has a .256/.307/.427 line.  Rosin is 23 and still pitching at the High-A level.  He got a later start to his career and only has 79 games under his belt.  The right-handed pitcher has started 16 games in his career but primarily comes out of the bullpen.  He has a career minor league ERA of 3.80.

The Giants enter play today with a one game lead over the Dodgers and a 3.5 game lead over the surging Diamondbacks.  The Dodgers, perhaps the most active in the trade market, are doing everything they can to compete now.  Adding Pence, improves San Francisco’s offense immediately.