The Giants followed up their trade deadline deal for reliever Will Smith with another major move to bolster their starting rotation, acquiring Tampa Bay Rays lefty Matt Moore for a three-player package headlined by Matt Duffy.
#SFGiants acquire LHP Matt Moore in exchange for IF Matt Duffy and minor league IF Lucius Fox and RHP Michael Santos.
— #WeAreSF (@SFGiants) August 1, 2016
Moore, 27, is 7-7 with a 4.08 ERA this season. In six MLB seasons, he is 39-28 with a 3.88 ERA. Moore’s best season came in 2013, when he posted a 3.29 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 150.1 innings.
On April 7, 2014, Moore left a game due to elbow soreness, which was later confirmed as a torn ligament in his left elbow. The injury forced Moore to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2014 season. Moore finally returned from his rehab on July 2, 2015 and made 12 starts to finish out the season.
Moore, an eighth-round pick out of high school in 2007, is owed $26 million through 2019.
Contract situation for Matt Moore: $7 million team option in '17, $9 million team option in '18, $10 million team option in '20.
— Connor Grossman (@connorgrossman) August 1, 2016
Matt Duffy cracked the big league roster in 2014, but was primarily used as a back up after his call up. In the 2014 NLCS Game 2 against the Cardinals he scored from second on a wild pitch for the game-tying run with two outs in the 9th as a pinch hitter.
Duffy won the starting job in 2015 after free agent acquisition Casey McGehee struggled out of the gate and was ultimately released. In 2015, Duffy hit .295 with 12 home runs and 77 RBI and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to the Cubs’ Kris Bryant. The Long Beach State product never hit a home run in his collegiate career and his newfound power stroke helping him solidify his spot as the Giants’ everyday third baseman. This season, Duffy struggled to start the season before getting his average up to .253. He hasn’t played since June 19 due to a left Achilles strain.
Lucius Fox is hitting .207 with two home runs and 16 RBI in 75 games for Low-A Augusta this season. The Giants signed Fox to a contract with a $6 million bonus last summer when he was just 18. Michael Santos, also in Augusta, is 4-2 with a 2.91 ERA in 58.2 innings.