Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Garko Traded to the Giants

It's hard to be excited for Giants' fans concerning their recent acquisition of Ryan Garko from the Cleveland Indians. That is, at least, until you consider just how bad the Giants' offense has been this year.

Garko is a slight bit better than a league average hitter. His career OPS+ of 109 is an indication that he has occasional power and gets the occasional walk. He is also a below league average fielder (negative RTOTs despite higher than league average range factors).

But the Giants are terrible at the plate. They are currently 27th in the majors on offense, last in the National League in two categories and next to last in four others. Garko will replace Travis Ishkawa who is currently sporting a 90 OPS+ and has a career 94 OPS+ in 332 at bats. Garko can do better than that and any help in the Giants' offense at this point can't hurt.

The Giants still have a good shot at the wildcard and have the pitching to stay in there. A little more offense will certainly make that road a little easier.

1 comment:

Josh Borenstein said...

I've always liked Garko. He'll definitely help out that ball club offensively.