Today, the San Francisco Giants traded Mauricio Dubón to the Houston Astros. In exchange, the Giants received minor league catcher Michael Papierski. The move is fascinating on a number of levels, but the simple version is that it makes sense and shouldn't have caught anyone by too much surprise.
Dubón was out of minor league options. He was a fringe player on the SF Giants' roster. The Giants could give Dubón some rope early on, because rosters were expanded for the season's first month and they had so many injuries. But rosters have come back down to 26, and everyone is getting healthy. There simply wasn't room to keep Dubón, and he could not be sent down.
Some have said that they prefer Dubón to Tommy La Stella, but that's an apples to oranges comparison. They did not fill the same role on the roster—at all. La Stella is here to hit right-handed pitching; Dubón was on the roster to hit lefties. He was always able to do so, including this year. Many have pointed out that he was just getting on a role, but it's important to consider that his hot streak corresponded to the team facing a string of lefty starters. He's been well-below-average in his career (and this season) against same-handed pitching.
The acquisition of Papierski is fascinating. He will report to Triple-A, where he's spent the last two seasons in the Astros' organization. He has great defensive qualities and an extremely discerning eye. In essence, he's exactly the type of player this Giants regime loves. He's also known to have a great personality and clubhouse presence. What this means for the Giants' current catchers on the major league roster, Joey Bart and Curt Casali, is unclear at this point. It could signal some real concern with Bart's swing and miss and strikeout issues, and it could also signal their willingness to deal the 2018 first-round pick. Only time will tell, but this was a very interesting trade.
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