Will Smith to the Giants for RHP Phil Bickford and C Andrew Susac

[Warning Track Power]

Official:

 

 

Nice!

[trwi7]

Susac means Lucroy is most certainly gone.

What are the chances that the Brewers flip Susac to the Braves for prospects?

 

That's an interesting idea I hadn't even considered.

[markedman5]

TH

 

Word on Bickford: Probable MLB starter but at least high-leverage reliever. Susac serviceable backup but not top defender like Maldonado.

[nate82]

Sickels on Susac in 2014

 

1) Andrew Susac, C, Grade B+: What he did in the majors is exactly what he should be expected to do: hit .260-.270 with solid power, good defense. Would be ready to start for most teams but Buster Posey gets in the way here. Age 24

[TooLiveBrew]

Weren't we talking just yesterday about how this board dislikes every trade? I've yet to see dissent on this one.

This trade is terrible!

 

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00346/14769354__346274c.jpg

 

Love this deal. High upside arm with good results in the low minors plus an MLB ready catcher who probably would be in his 3rd MLB season right now if he wasn't blocked by Posey.

 

Thanks for everything, Fresh Prince with an assist to DM for acquiring & subsequently dealing Nori Aoki.

And to make it even fuller-circle, Craig Counsell (then a FO employee) provided the only scouting the org. did on Aoki... video scouting, because they didn't send anyone to see Nori play in person.

 

Great return in this deal. Love it.

[brewmann04]

so we get a reliever for the back end,some where in the next few years I hope Stearns finds the true #1 starter

[recte44]

so we get a reliever for the back end,some where in the next few years I hope Stearns finds the true #1 starter

His name is Luis Ortiz.

 

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[gregmag]

TH

 

Word on Bickford: Probable MLB starter but at least high-leverage reliever. Susac serviceable backup but not top defender like Maldonado.

"Word"? What are the odds TH had heard either of these names before noon today? If you're going to repost secondhand information, at least source it.

[Oldcity]

With everyone (understandably) discussing the bigger trade, I want to just say again that this is an amazing deal.

[MillerParkSouth]

Keith Law of course isn't a big fan of Bickford.

[Yount19]

more on Susac from 2014:

8. Andrew Susac, Giants: Taken by the Giants in the second round of the 2011 Draft out of Oregon State, Susac reached Double-A in his second pro season, then capped it off with a strong Arizona Fall League showing. Susac's numbers, especially in terms of power and on-base skills, improved with the move to Double-A. He's always had a strong arm, and he threw out 40 percent of would-be basestealers in 2013. There isn't a starting gig open in San Francisco, obviously, but he could soon be ready to back up Buster Posey.

 

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/66617222/mlbcoms-list-of-top-10-catching-prospects/

 

speaking of Keith Law..

http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2015/1/29/7947025/keith-law-espn-top-prospects-giants-rankings

 

The good news is that Law likes Andrew Susac a lot more than I figured a lot of prognosticators would, putting him 46th on his top-100 prospects list.

[nate82]

I love Susac he is a good catcher not great but good and I have wanted to trade for him previously. I am happy the Brewers got him.

[MilwaukeesBest]

Interesting again that HighHeat19 was dead on with his projection that the Brewers were going to trade Smith for a player with a K/9 over 1. For that insider information it's a shame he left!

[logan82]

Interesting again that HighHeat19 was dead on with his projection that the Brewers were going to trade Smith for a player with a K/9 over 1. For that insider information it's a shame he left!

Kind of. Some behavior is not worth putting up with.

[recte44]

John Sickles couldn't believe this deal, said his jaw dropped (1057 The Fan)

 

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[recte44]

He also stated hell be ranking systems on Wednesday, couldn't see Brewers being less than Top 5. Most Top 100 specs in MLB.

 

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[JosephC]

Well it looks like I'll have my plate of crow tonight. Never expected to get this type of return for any of the relief pitchers. Bickford seems like a great prospect well worthy of the #50-#70 rankings he's getting on the top 100 prospect lists. Susac's MLB stats look pretty ordinary at this time, but he's a former top 100 prospect himself that could develop into a solid MLB catcher. Stearns definitely gets high marks for this one.

[Noche]

One thing I noticed about Susac is how consistently solid a hitter he was at every stop in his career. No matter what level you could count on him for basically a .775 OPS and often quite a bit higher. Thought that was interesting.

[TooLiveBrew]

John Sickles couldn't believe this deal, said his jaw dropped (1057 The Fan)

 

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This, combined with Keith Law not liking Bickford, makes me even happier about this trade!

[TooLiveBrew]

I didn't see this linked yet, so apologies if I glossed over it. Minor League Ball's take on this trade

 

Excerpts:

 

many felt that [bickford's] mechanics would one day lead to command issues once he reached higher levels against advanced hitting. That being said, he still has some nice offerings, backed by a fastball that he throws as a high-90s four-seamer or a low-90s sinking two-seamer. His slider is a plus offering and his changeup improved greatly from last season.

 

Due to his funky mechanics, some have suggested that Bickford may be destined for a closer’s role, but he will still get his chances to be a starter for the time being. He has been in the spotlight, pitching a scoreless, two strikeout inning in San Diego at the MLB Futures Game and freshly 21-years old, the Brewers have time to feel out where they feel Bickford will work best.

[susac's] past two seasons have been plagued by injury, but Susac could still maintain an everyday big league job if he can get back to his old form. Just 26, there is no reason to think he wouldn’t be able to. His defense is solid, he can hit .250 to .270 and hit double-digit home runs. He strikes out a bit, but he also shows patience and can draw some walks. It’s quite possible the Brewers see him as an immediate platoon player with Martin Maldonado

[brewmann04]

I think based on the brewers MO they will keep Bickford as starter until he proves he can't.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Nori Aoki still helping the crew...

[Noche]

Nori Aoki still helping the crew...

 

Great point. Essentially Bickford and Susac for Aoki who we were never expecting to sign in the first place. Amazing how these things go.

[Matt Breen]

Not so glowing report on Bickford from Eric Longenhagen at fangraphs. Kind of says that Bickford has been all over the board performance-wise in his career, so it's hard to know exactly what kind of guy he ultimately is going to be.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/scouting-phil-bickford-conundrum/

[I Heart Brewers]

Smith got knocked around tonight. I hope he's not injured and this trade somehow gets nixed. That can't happen like it did to the Padres right?