Trade Talk: Why the Giants Need to Trade for Jed Lowrie to Replace Crawford

When most baseball fans think about Jed Lowrie, they picture an injury prone shortstop. One who could develop into of the best shortstops in the league if he ever decides to put all his talent together. Well, in 2012, Lowrie has put everything together and he’s arguably been the best offensive shortstop in the majors this season.

However, the Houston Astros are going absolutely nowhere and it seems likely that Lowrie will be shipped out of the lone star state before the July 31st trade deadline.

This is where the Giants would be wise to attempt to pry Lowrie away from the Astros.

Lowrie would be a perfect fit for the Giants because Brandon Crawford is just not ready to be an everyday big league shortstop, both offensively and even defensively. With the bat, Crawford essentially looks clueless. He’s shown a few signs of brilliance, but he does nothing with consistency. Defensively, he is apparently the next Omar Vizque, however I never saw Omar Vizquel throwing baseballs into dugouts or bobbling routine grounders. I’ve seen Brandon Crawford do those things more than enough.

At 28 years-old, Jed Lowrie is virtually entering the prime of his rather young career and the Giants need to trade for him, fast.

Why?

Well, Jed Lowrie’s power surge might not last much longer, but that’s not the reason why the Giants need to trade for him.

Lowrie’s (.351) OBP is much more impressive than his 13 home runs.  Firstly, because that (.351) mark ranks 12th in the National League, and secondly, it proves that he can contribute to his team without hitting for power.

At the moment, the first six hitters in the Giants’ lineup all boast OBP’s of .300+. Add, Lowrie to the lineup and you have a bunch of base runners, which, last time I check, is great. Now they just need the big hit.

I can guarantee you one thing; Lowrie won’t be hitting baseballs out of AT&T Park anytime soon. But, another hitter who can consistently get on base wouldn’t do any harm to the Giants’ lineup. In fact, a player who can sustain a relatively high OBP is what Brian Sabean should be in the market for, especially a shortstop who fills that definition.

How many times has Brandon Crawford struck out with runners on base? Well, to be exact, Crawford is hitting below .100 to go along with ten strikeouts with runners in scoring position and two outs. Lowrie isn’t doing all that much better in those situations this year, but he puts the ball in play more than Crawford.

Part of being “clutch” is having plate discipline. Last year, Crawford seemed to have patience at the dish, but this year I can’t say the same thing. He’s swinging at pitches outside of the zone 38.6 percent of the time which is why he’s striking out 21.6 percent of the time. Meanwhile, Lowrie swings at bad pitches just 19 percent of the time.

Now, with a runner on third and less than two outs, who would you want at the plate, Lowrie or Crawford?

I’ll let you answer that question, but my point is that Lowrie is a player Brain Sabean should really think hard about come the July 31st deadline. Lowrie leads all shortstop with a 2.6 WAR, and if he can remain off the D.L, he could contend for a spot on the all-star team for the next several years. He just needs to play for a winning team, and the Giants can give him that opportunity.