The Giants were active on a lot of fronts leading into the deadline, placing calls on Jose Bautista, Corey Hart, and a number of others. The only thing they were able to pull off, however, was swinging a trade for a bullpen specialist:
Giants Land Lefty Specialist Javier Lopez For John Bowker, Joe Martinez
#Pirates also get RHP Joseph Martinez & OF John Bowker from #SFGiants for LHP Javier Lopez. Martinez/Bowker will both report to AAA.
The 33 year old Lopez has made a career out of being a lefty specialist. However, he hasn't been a special one, with a .243 average and .688 OPS against. He does have another year of team control after this one, but he's not an impact addition to counter San Diego getting Ryan Ludwick, or Los Angeles getting Ted Lilly, Scott Podsednik, and Octavio Dotel.
As for what the Giants gave up, Joe Martinez is a 27 year old righty starter with middling stuff. John Bowker is a 27 year old outfielder who has yet to hit in the bigs, but who owns a .975 career OPS in AAA with impressive power. He could end up being the Pirates' new Garrett Jones.
Look for more at McCovey Chronicles and Bucs Dugout. Though they didn't move Paul Maholm, this was a successful Saturday for the Pirates.
See More:
