There has been a significant amount of trade activity for Valencia this season when compared to the previous three years since the current front office has taken over. Five trades have been made so far this year. This five-part series is going to do an initial look at how these trades have fared for each of the parties involved.
The third installment of this series is looking at the trade made with San Antonio. This trade was a straight up two player swap that sent southpaw starting pitcher Jonathan Bryant to San Antonio and minor league centerfielder Gideon Shone to Valencia.
After moving out of the pen at the start of 2060, Jonathan Bryant experienced modest success in the rotation going 23-21 and roughly a 4.25 ERA which is well worthy of a #3/#4 slot. His 7/6/6 ratings for Stuff/Movement/Control also suggest he is a mid-rotation type talent. Starting of the season in Valencia, Jonathan went 3-3 with a 3.89 ERA. After arriving in San Antonio, he has had a rocky start going 1-4 with a 5.64 ERA and his Stuff/Movement went down a point in each column. Jonathan could still finish out the season with a 1-ish WAR which would put him on pace in earning his keep for that $2.8M salary.
For Valencia, Gideon Shone was one of those high-risk/high reward type ventures. At the time of the trade, Gideon had an overall potential rating of 75 with a potential power rating of 8 and an elite glove. In the most recent scouting report, Gideon's overall rating has dropped to 50 with most of that due to the drop in his defensive ratings. Gideon is playing with the Rookie Club and is slashing .310/.355 in his first 9 games with a pair of homers. The locals are guessing that Gideon will stay with the Rookie club and maybe move to short season A toward the end of the season if his current overall rating can move from 20 to 30.
Initial Grade for San Antonio: C-. While Bryant's ERA has not been too impressive, he is on pace to eat up about 175 innings over the course of the season. If Bryant can bounce back to get closer to his form while in Valencia, the grade evaluation could go as high as a straight B.
Initial Grade for Valencia: B+. Valencia acquired Shone in hopes of having a centerfielder of the future in their midst. As it always is in single person trades involving a 19 year-old, the grade evaluation could go anywhere from an A to a F depending on how Shone fills out.
At this point, this trade could go anywhere from noneventful for both teams to helping one or the other. We will have to wait for hindsight on this one.
