The San Francisco Giants have designated 27-year old righty reliever Billy Sadler for assignment to make room on the roster for Freddy Sanchez. Sadler pitched in 13 games (all starts) in AAA-ball this season and he was 5-3 with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. In two years with the Giants, Sadler pitched in 38 games (0 starts) in which he was 0-1 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Sadler might not accept a outright assignment to AAA by the Giants, thus, making him a free agent.

The Giants have acquired 31-year old righty swinging 2B Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates for 20-year old righty starting pitcher Tim Alderson. Sanchez has played in 86 games for the Pirates this season and he was 106 for 355 (.296 avg, .776 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 6 homers, 34 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Sanchez has now played in 708 games in his major league career and he is 788 for 2,630 (.300 avg, .756 OPS) with 347 runs scored, 37 homers, 293 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Sanchez will give the Giants a threat at the top of the lineup. Adding Garko and Sanchez was a good start to help the offense but they need one more bat…..for LF. The price was not cheap for Sanchez as the Giants’ traded their #4 rated prospect heading into this season. Tim Alderson has started 18 games in A+AA ball this season and he is 7-2 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Still, this was a move to win now so give the Giants’ front office some credit.

The Giants need more out of shortstop Edgar Renteria if they are to make a legit playoff run. Renteria has played in 84 games this season for the Giants and he is 80 for 317 (.252 avg, .624 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 2 homers, 39 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Giants need Renteria to start hitting the ball like he can so that they quit wasting good pitching.

The Giants have acquired 29-year old righty swinging 1B Ryan Garko from the Indians for 22-year old lefty pitcher Scott Barnes. Garko played in 78 games this season for the Indians and he was 68 for 239 (.285 avg, .826 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 11 homers and 39 RBIs. In parts of five major league seasons, Garko has played in 408 games in which he is 397 for 1,404 (.283 avg, .805 OPS) with 180 runs scored, 53 homers and 205 RBIs. Garko can also play left field in a pinch but he will likely start at 1B for the Giants. He is a definate upgrade on Travis Ishikawa. But, Garko didn’t come cheap as Scott Barnes was the Giants’ #9 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Barnes started 18 games in A-ball this season for the Giants and he was 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. This trade was made for now as the Giants are in the Wild Card hunt in the National League so I like the trade.