On Sunday, the Giants traded for infielder Daniel Robertson from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a Player To Be Named Later or cash considerations.
The trade gives the Giants an infielder who has ties to PBO Farhan Zaidi. Zaidi was with the Athletics when the team drafted Daniel Robertson in 2012 with the 34th overall pick, in the first compensation round of that draft. Baseball America ranked Robertson as Oakland’s #1 prospect before the 2015 season, when he was traded to the Rays in the Ben Zobrist trade.
The Rays had designated Robertson for assignment when they traded for reliever Edgar Garcia from the Phillies. Robertson had not appeared in the Majors for the Rays in the 2020 season.
Robertson, 26, has a career .231/.340/.352 batting line spread across the last three major league seasons, in 236 games. In 2019 in Triple-A, he played 31 games and hit .257/.373/.327.
In scouting reports, Robertson is noted for being an all-around player, but one who has no standout tools. His right-handed bat was called above-average by Baseball America, but without much power. He can play anywhere on the infield, though he lacks the range that is ideal at shortstop, and is a below-average runner.
Robertson has a tenuous fit in the Giants roster. As a right-handed infielder, he is behind other right handers Donovan Solano, Mauricio Dubón, and Wilmer Flores on the roster. In a way, he replaces Yolmer Sánchez, who was released by the Giants over the weekend. The gold glove infielder Sánchez was a switch hitter who couldn’t break through the logjam and requested his release.
Regardless, the trade does give the Giants a player who had first round talent that they might be able to help come back and live up to the expectations he had in the past, if he can survive the Giants’ roster churn. He made some changes before the 2020 season, but has been unable to put them into practice yet.
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