Hunter Pence Traded to San Francisco Giants at the Deadline

Two-thirds of the Philadelphia Phillies‘ starting outfielders were dealt to NL West contenders on the Tuesday of MLB’s trade deadline. 31-year-old Shane Victorino was traded the Los Angeles Dodgers for reliever Josh Lindblom and minor league pitcher Ethan Martin.

Victorino was batting .261 with nine homers, 40 RBI, and 24 steals. That fact that he was traded away was hardly a surprise considering he’s a free agent to be at the end of the season.

Hunter Pence being traded however, may have caught some people by surprise even though rumors have been swirling the last couple weeks. The last-place Phillies shipped the two-time All-Star to the San Francisco Giants who were tied for first place in the NL West with Victorino’s new team when the deal was made. Philadelphia receives three players, outfielder Nate Schierholtz, minor league catcher Tommy Joseph, and Single-A righty Seth Rosin in return for Pence.

This is certainly nothing new for the right fielder; Pence was traded mid-season just last year when the Houston Astros traded him to Philadelphia. Time will only tell if the last-place Phillies were able to acquire enough talent with the prospects they added to deem the Pence and Victorino deals worthy trades or not.

San Francisco desperately needed to upgrade their offense, especially given what their rivals were able to acquire with Hanley Ramirez and Victorino. Despite his numbers being below his average, Pence instantly becomes the new team leader in home runs for the Giants with 17. Pence will be under the Giants control for 2013, which is his final year of arbitration eligibility.