Hunter Pence - A Giant? Not yet, but there is "juice" to the trade speculation reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman is reporting that while the Orioles are currently declining to give up top infield prospect Jonathan Schoop, there is “smoke” around a Joe Blanton-to-Baltimore deal. The Phillies reportedly faxed Blanton’s medical history to Baltimore earlier toady. Schoop could be quite a catch for the Phils, as the 20 year old is currently hitting .244/.301/.391 in Double-A. Schoop’s primary position is shortstop but is believed to be effectively blocked at the in the Orioles system by mega-prospect Manny Machado and has been playing second base. Machado was a first round pick, third overall, for the O’s in 2010.
For what it’s worth, Schoop and Machado have similar stats in Double-A (.250/.337/.403) but Machado has the better pedigree. Machado was ranked 14th overall in the FanGraphs Top 100 prospect list while Schoop missed the cut. Schoop would be a coup for Blanton but that ship may have sailed according to Heyman as a major point of contention seems to be Baltimore absorbing the over $3 million left
on Blanton’s contract. Jayson Stark is reporting the teams are in the “haggling” stage of the deal, with the Phillies getting a better prospect if they include more money.Heyman reported shortly after the Blanton update that the Pence-to-Giants deal again has life. Heyman stated the Giants are determined to add a hitter. Earlier today, we explored what a possible package for Pence would look like and what it would mean for the Phillies.
