Will Wilson traded from the Angels to the Giants

Former NC State star baseball player Will Wilson, the 15th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, was traded earlier this week from the Angles to the Giants.

Wilson spent his first minor league season playing in Rookie ball after being drafted. The deal packaged Wilson with former All-Star SS Zack Cozart, being traded for a player-to-be-named later, as well as cash considerations - which gives me an excuse to post this:

The move was made a day ahead of the Angels signing superstar free agent 3B Anthony Rendon on Wednesday, clearing an ineffective Cozart and the $12.7M he’s due in 2020 from the books to make room for Rendon and his new 7 year, $245M contract. Basically, the Angels wanted to sign Rendon but needed to make some room on the books first, and to do that they needed to package in Wilson, the 4th ranked prospect in their system.

It’s a total “win now” move by the Angels, but not as desirable a move for Wilson as it drops him into a much deeper prospect pool in the Giants system. Prospects 2B Mauricio Dubon and SS Abiatal Avelino made their MLB debuts in 2019 (Dubon was a top 5 prospect with the Brewers before he was moved to the Giants at the trade deadline this year), and the Giants also have highly-regarded 18-year-old SS Marco Luciano in their farm system.

Make no mistake, though; this move was made by the Giants for the sole purpose of getting Wilson (they’re likely to drop Cozart and eat his 2020 contract if he doesn’t earn a starting job out of spring training). You don’t spend $12.7M to buy a prospect if you don’t believe in his long term potential to help your club.