Bobby Evans didn’t try to hide his feelings. He had just finished trading Matt Duffy, the type of homegrown player the Giants do remarkably well at keeping, and the decision was painful. Evans promised his commitment to Duffy three days ago when the Giants acquired Eduardo Nunez, privately telling Duffy he was still the club’s priority at third base.
Now, rather than pledging commitment, Evans was doing the opposite. He delivered the trade news to Duffy, drowning out personal difficulties with the hope left-hander Matt Moore could deliver the Giants a fourth World Series title since 2010.
“It was incredibly difficult,” Evans said of trading Duffy. “Our focus had been on a prospect-driven deal, but it was apparent there was no way to do a prospect-driven deal (to acquire Moore).
“(Duffy was) an incredibly great Giant, important here in our recent success.”
In an effort to fill roster holes for this year and several to come, the Giants completed two impactful deals just before the Monday’s trade deadline. Duffy was packaged with infield prospect Lucius Fox and right-handed pitcher Michael Santos in a deal to acquire Moore. The Giants also acquired left-handed reliever Will Smith to complement their bullpen.
But the most relevant acquisition came days ago with Nunez. The utility infielder is most comfortable playing third base, and he’s likely to assume the everyday role with Duffy’s departure. Nunez is under team control through next season, building an ideal bridge for the Giants to usher in top prospect Christian Arroyo. The 21-year-old infielder was drafted as shortstop but has begun to play more third base of late, Evans said.
Duffy’s departure indicates a lot about the Giants’ belief in Arroyo. He had been blocked at every infield position prior to Duffy’s trade, and there were likely several scenarios in which the Giants could’ve flipped Arroyo instead of Duffy. Evidently it’s Arroyo (and Moore) the Giants have in their future plans.
“We feel very good about (Arroyo’s) ability to handle (third),” Evans said.
Arroyo was the Giants’ first-round selection in 2013 out of Hernando High School (Florida). He’s hitting .285 in 92 games with Double-A Richmond this year, a promotion he received after a productive campaign with Single-A San Jose last season. The Giants aren’t going to rush his development, but Monday’s trades opened up a clear line of progression.
Evans insisted that the acquisition of Nunez wasn’t to set up another trade, it was a depth move at the time. It’s curious how quickly these things change, but if nothing it else, it all benefits Arroyo.
“This is a very difficult day to see anybody go out the door,” Evans said. “…It’s emotional and it’s personal. The reality of trying to improve your club is you’re going to have to trade players. That’s just the stark reality of the game.
“It still is more a game than a business to me, but today it feels a lot more like a business.”
