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MLB trade deadline: Giants land Rays’ Matt Moore for Matt Duffy and two farmhands

By Ted Fleming

Jul 16, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Matt Moore (55) reacts after he gave up a 2-run home run during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 16, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Matt Moore (55) reacts after he gave up a 2-run home run during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Talented lefty goes from worst to first as Giants load up to hold off charging Dodgers in NL West.

The San Francisco Giants landed the big fish they were looking for by acquiring lefty Matt Moore from the Tampa Bay Rays. The trade went through just before the 4:00 pm deadline according to Jon Heyman. Earlier this afternoon, they acquired another southpaw, this one for the bullpen, when they got Will Smith from the Brewers.

According to reports, the Giants have sent infielder Matt Duffy to Tampa Bay. The 25-year old isn’t arbitration eligible until 2018, which is right up the Rays’ alley of getting players back they can control for a number of years. He is in his third big league season with .253/.313/.358 splits while hitting four homers and 20 RBI. He is a career .281 hitter who showed a little power a year ago with 12 round-trippers while driving in 77 in 149 games.

In addition, the Rays also get Lucius Fox, a 19-year old shortstop who is in his first pro season with the Low-A Augusta GreenJackets, and RHP Michael Santos, a 21-year old out of the Dominican Republic in his fourth pro season. He was also with Augusta.

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The 27-year old Moore was an eighth round pick by the Rays in 2007 and is only signed through the end of the year. However there are three team options that would pay him $7 million next season, $9M in 2018 and $10M in the final year, with buyouts of $2.5M, $1M and $750,000, respectively. If all options are picked up, San Francisco gets an everyday starter through the 2019 season for roughly $26M, a bargain by any stretch of the imagination.

Moore is 7-7 with a 4.08 ERA and 1.26 WHIP this year, not exactly what the Rays were hoping for. He doesn’t appear to be the same pitcher he was before Tommy John surgery when he had back-to-back solid seasons of 11-11 and his breakout 17-4, 3.29 ERA in 2013. He also has a home run problem, as he has already been touched up for 20 in 21 games. Even his strikeouts per inning have fallen off since the surgery although 109 in 130 innings isn’t all that bad.

He will join Madison Bumgarner as the second lefty in the Giants rotation, which is a plus against the lefty heavy Dodgers.

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