With the trade deadline less than two hours away, it remains unclear if the Giants are going to move any big names in exchange for the prospects that they sorely need. What is clear is that at least one everyday player has been discussed in the lead-up to the deadline. According to Buster Olney of ESPN, San Francisco and the Los Angeles Angels “talked about” Joe Panik last week, but the discussions ultimately didn’t go anywhere.
Angels and Giants talked about Joe Panik last week, but it apparently didn’t go anywhere.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 31, 2017
Last week, the Giants traded another everyday infielder, Eduardo Nunez to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for two pitching prospects. Panik, 26, is having an average season at the plate in his fourth year as a major leaguer, posting a line of .267/.322/.396. Panik is also coming off winning a Gold Glove last season. The second baseman is earning just $600K this year and is slated to hit his first year of arbitration this offseason.
General manager Bobby Evans stated that the Giants’ goal at this year’s trade deadline is to hopefully add a handful of young prospects that can help the team in the future, and be added to a core of players at the big league level currently in their prime. Panik is one of those players about to enter that phase of his career, but hasn’t quite lived up to the promise he showed, at least at the plate, in 2015, when he had a batting average of .312 and an OPS of .833.
Though the talks broke down between the two teams, the report is an indicator that Panik is perhaps not valued as highly as other pieces of the teams’ core, and that he could be moved in the next couple hours if San Francisco can find an interested party willing to part with some young talent.