San Francisco Giants Agree To Trade Chris Heston To Seattle Mariners
With the latest addition of free agent closer Mark Melancon, the San Francisco Giants were forced to make a decision on Wednesday - they had to remove someone from their 40-man roster.
Push came to shove and starting pitcher Chris Heston - who threw a no-hitter for the Giants just 18 months ago - became the odd man out. According to multiple sources, the Giants and Seattle Mariners have agreed to trade the 28-year-old for a player to be named later.
The Giants have a loaded pitching staff, even without Heston. With Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Matt Moore securing the top four spots, Matt Cain (yes, he's still on the team), rookie Ty Blach (who pitched wonderfully for the Giants in September last season) and Heston were left to compete for the final spot.
Heston's 13-12 record in 32 starts along with a 4.36 ERA in 188 innings pitched was mostly done spanning the 2015 season. He spent most of last season nursing injuries and rehabbing in Triple-A.
That doesn't even mention the Giants top pitching prospects inching closer to becoming major league-ready. Guys such as Kyle Crick, Chris Stratton and Clayton Blackburn are all going to compete for a possible mid-season promotion this Spring.
In the meantime, Heston is headed to a pitcher-friendly ballpark in the cool climate that is Seattle. He'll have a legit chance to crack the starting five and still remain on the West coast.
