[DC 86]

I suppose it doesn't matter, but a few comments on Beltran:

1) He was an all-star nine of the 13 seasons (2004-2016) that sandwiched his Giants career, including 2011, his Giants year.
2) Beltran was with the Mets earlier in 2011, and he slightly outperformed his Mets line (.298/.391/.513/.904) compared with his SF line (.323/.369/.551/.920).
3) Beltran significantly outperformed his career line (.279/.350/.486/.837).
4) Zack Wheeler had a 3.99 ERA for San Jose that year, and was 7-5. After six seasons in MLB, he had a 22-23 record and missed a season for surgery.  In other words, his breakout year didn't come for seven years after he was traded.

At the end of the day, the Giants were 68-60 and 1.5 games back when Beltran arrived.  44 games later, they were 86-76, and finished 8 games out.

It matters, and that's good information. Reasonable minds can disagree about the efficacy of trading an elite prospect for a short term rental. Certainly MLB front offices have different opinions and track records on this.

I will note that Wheeler was ranked as the #33 overall prospect in all of baseball by Fangraphs prior to 2011 and #17 overall prior to 2012, so he was probably in the low-20s at the time of the trade (due to graduations to MLB and injuries), making him a legitimately elite prospect. He was ranked just ahead of Nolan Arenado and Anthony Rendon. A 21-year old pitcher is valued based on his tools, not his minor league W-L record.

[DC 86]

I suppose it doesn't matter, but a few comments on Beltran:

1) He was an all-star nine of the 13 seasons (2004-2016) that sandwiched his Giants career, including 2011, his Giants year.
2) Beltran was with the Mets earlier in 2011, and he slightly outperformed his Mets line (.298/.391/.513/.904) compared with his SF line (.323/.369/.551/.920).
3) Beltran significantly outperformed his career line (.279/.350/.486/.837).
4) Zack Wheeler had a 3.99 ERA for San Jose that year, and was 7-5. After six seasons in MLB, he had a 22-23 record and missed a season for surgery.  In other words, his breakout year didn't come for seven years after he was traded.

At the end of the day, the Giants were 68-60 and 1.5 games back when Beltran arrived.  44 games later, they were 86-76, and finished 8 games out.

It matters, and that's good information. Reasonable minds can disagree about the efficacy of trading an elite prospect for a short term rental. Certainly MLB front offices have different opinions and track records on this.

I will note that Wheeler was ranked as the #33 overall prospect in all of baseball by Fangraphs prior to 2011 and #17 overall prior to 2012, so he was probably in the low-20s at the time of the trade (due to graduations to MLB and injuries), making him a legitimately elite prospect. He was ranked just ahead of Nolan Arenado and Anthony Rendon. A 21-year old pitcher is valued based on his tools, not his minor league W-L record.