Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Adding Tommy La Stella cost the Giants one outfielder. They are testing the trade waters for ways to import another, though.
Upon officially introducing the infielder on a three-year deal and designating Luis Basabe for assignment, Farhan Zaidi suggested they could seek a trade for a young lefty hitter who could give the Giants another option in center.
“Option” may be the key term because Basabe, a former top prospect picked up from the White Sox last year, was out of options. If the Giants bring in an outfielder, it’s more likely to be an unproven player who can fight for a roster spot but be demoted rather than a top-of-the-market player like Jackie Bradley Jr.
The Giants could target someone “who has options, who could maybe compete with some of our younger outfielders,” Zaidi said on a Zoom call Thursday. “Guys like Jaylin [Davis], Steven Duggar, for some of the at-bats and maybe that last spot on the roster. [Signing a free agent is] still a possibility, but it may make more sense to bring in a younger guy to compete than to commit to another veteran at that spot right now.”
That spot — a lefty hitter who can play center — is mostly occupied at the moment by Duggar, who has good speed and plays solid defense but is yet to hit at the major league level. The Giants could move Mike Yastrzemski over, but his strengths lie in right field. Mauricio Dubon is ironically the best option to play center after a season in which he played 44 games at his new position. But while he showed he can handle it, he also showed he may be best used as a platoon option: The righty hitter posted a .664 OPS against righties and .885 OPS against lefties.
Basabe, a 24-year-old switch-hitter, might have been a potential platoon partner, but the fact the Giants did not see a clear path toward his making the roster and thus would lose him cleared him from the team and competition.
The Giants had been seeking a lefty hitter of some sort all offseason and landed on La Stella, though they are short in the outfield. Bradley, who is repped by Scott Boras, likely will command a deal that is lengthier than the Giants are comfortable with. He’s also the class of the lefty-hitting, center-field market, ahead of players such as Brett Gardner, Brian Goodwin and Jarrod Dyson.