San Francisco Giants: Five outfield trade targets the Giants must look at

The San Francisco Giants have holes in the outfield, and it doesn’t really look like their farm system has much to offer in the immediate future. Here are a few targets they need to look at.

The San Francisco Giants need some help in the outfield. Denard Span is getting older, and breaking down, along with Hunter Pence. While both are still good players, the Giants might just be wise to beef it up a little bit on the offensive end. As the market begins to shake itself out, there are a few players they need to take a look at.

First things first, they need to give Mac Williamson and Justin Ruggiano and extended look in left field. Anything less than .260 and .700+ OPS won’t be good enough, frankly. The Giants got themselves into a deep hole early. And while they are definitely pulling themselves out of it, they aren’t gaining much ground on the rest of the division.

A lot can be made about the Giants farm system in this as well. They have a few good outfielders down there that might get a shot at some point this season. Players like Austin Slater, Steven Duggar (when he finally gets healthy) and at this point, maybe even Chris Shaw could get an quick look.

However, there is a 50-50 chance that neither of those guys are the answer either. Heath Quinn is tearing it up in San Jose, making the MILB team of the week after just one week of games. However, as likely their best power-hitting outfield prospect in the organization right now, he probably wouldn’t be ready until 2019. The Giants can’t continue to accept mediocrity on offense, especially as the others are starting to decline.

We’re going to take a look at five potential outfield trade targets that the Giants should at the very least, be making calls about. We’ll also take a wild guess as to what they might cost the Giants as well. That’s always a large factor in trade discussions. Let’s begin!

Ryan Braun

Why?: Despite his steroid past, he’s actually been a very good-player while playing (presumably) clean. Since his suspension in 2013, Ryan Braun has posted a .284/.349/.499/.848 OPS, hit 81 homers, and brought in 275 runs. For comparison, we fired up the Baseball Reference Play Index machine and checked to see where that line would rank on the Giants over the same time frame. He would have the highest OPS, highest slugging percentage, the most home-runs, and tied with Buster Posey for the most RBI. He would also have the third highest wRC+ on the Giants over that time, behind Posey and Brandon Belt (for all you Belt bashers).

Why Not?: One of the big reasons as to why I wouldn’t take him, is the Giants already have a significantly high payroll. He would be owed $56 million dollars, plus whatever else he’s owed for the rest of this season, from his 33-37 year old seasons. He’s likely to decline and get injured more over that time. That’s a whole lot of money to be giving to someone, for a long time, especially to someone around the same age as Hunter Pence.

What he would cost: At the moment, it’s hard to see whether or not the Brewers are going to be able to prolong their contender status. But, if they’re relatively close, I actually wouldn’t be shocked if they held on to him. However, they could probably learn their lesson from 2014, where they were in the race until the all-star break and fell out of contention, and never capitalized on their opportunity to sell, especially in a huge selling season (lots of teams were buying). wIf they wanted to sell, they’d probably ask for at least one major league ready player, a top tier pitching prospect and a mid tier prospect. Not shocking, considering his value to the team.

Bottom Line: Not sure if he’s the guy I would make the trade for, especially since he’s owed so much money, but he’d immediately be the second or third best hitter on the team.

J.D. Martinez

Why?: The answer is purely offensive. His defense over time has been OK at best, but I’m sure he’s better than Eduardo Nunez and his horrendous routes to baseballs. Martinez, since 2014 has the fifth best wRC+ in all of baseball. He has a .301/.362/.549/.911 slashline over that time frame, 89 Homers, and 258 RBI. Out of those that would actually be on the trade market, he’s the biggest offensive shot in the arm that the Giants could get.

Why Not?: The Tigers already floated the J.D Martinez and Panik talks last season. I am not sure if the Giants are entirely comfortable letting Christian Arroyo take over second, especially for losing Joe Panik, while potentially not keeping him beyond this season. It’s way too big a loss. Now, if the asking price drops a decent amount from the Tigers, then it would be worth exploring. But with him walking at the end of the year, it’s just not worth that asking price, if Panik is in the conversation.

How much he would cost: Well, as mentioned above, the Tigers were throwing around Joe Panik in the initial conversation this offseason. To take Panik off the table It would likely include a top ten prospect, and if that prospect isn’t very close to major league ready (Reynolds, Quinn, Fabian, Suarez), then maybe they’d need to throw in a major league ready lower tier prospect as well.

The bottom line: Unless the price drops significantly, the Giants should really hope someone else trades for him before the deadline, and then they can sign him this offseason without losing a draft pick! That’s the thing with Martinez. He’s the best OF bat on the market, but he’s costly. And that just might not be worth it in the big picture.

Marcell Ozuna

Why?: Ozuna is a pretty under the radar guy, and the Marlins are terrible this year. He’s not necessarily a franchise cornerstone player, but an extremely consistent player. So far this season, he’s already near worth his WAR from last season. He’s been one of those “primed” for a breakout over the past years. He’s also got a few years of organizational control attached to him. He’s not an elite outfielder by any means, but he’s clearly an upgrade over whatever the heck the Giants have going on in left. He has a career .320 OBP which isn’t bad at all. Only 26 years old, plus the organizational control is a big plus, and worth exploring. We checked out his home-run spray chart through baseball savant to see if his power would translate to AT&T park. In terms of distance, only two of his home-runs would not have been homers. You can see that graphic here. (You have to toggle over to the San Francisco Giants ballpark overlay)

Why not?: It’s hard to see what type of player he actually will turn into. Is this his breakout? Is it just a hot start? Who knows. Ozuna has his power to all fields, however his homers to right would likely not be gone at AT&T Park, even if the spray chart indicates so via. distance.

What would he cost?: I think the most he would cost would be someone like Jordan Johnson, and maybe a “project prospect.” He won’t command a freakish cost because he isn’t that type of player, or at least hasn’t become that yet. If the Giants believe he can become a top offensive threat, and he’s cheap, it would be worth a shot.

The bottom line: He’s cheap, but there is a 50/50 chance he’s not the long-term solution in the outfield. If the price is low enough, and they have plans to snag Martinez in free agency, he’d be a low-risk/high-reward trade deal.

Avisail Garcia

Why?: He’s absolutely tearing it up right now. A slashline of .342/.384/.584/.968 is insane, along with his 163 wRC+. He doesn’t walk a whole ton, but his BABIP is nearly at .400! When he puts the ball in play, it’s been a good result this year. He won’t be a super slugger by any means, and has a whole lot of gap-to-gap power, evident in his nine doubles and three triples. He get’s on base at a high clip mainly because of his bat. He’s only 25, and isn’t a free agent until 2020.

Why Not?: It’s hard to see how long he can prolong this success. He’s never put up anything remotely close to those numbers in his career, even in the minor leagues. He’s not a help defensively and isn’t a base-stealing threat. He’s got decent power, but nothing elite enough to make a dent at AT&T. He’s one of those players though that could really blossom.

What he would cost: If he’s playing as good as he is right now through the deadline, he might cost a little more than Ozuna, but they should be roughly the same price in terms of prospects. Don’t be shocked if he gets some noise if/when the White Sox start to come back to earth.

The bottom line: At worst, Garcia is a no better than what they’ve already got in left field. Which means they really shouldn’t shell out a whole lot for him, unless they’re convinced these numbers right now aren’t an aberration.

Next: Mid-May Mailbag, Plus new Podcast!

Final Thoughts

There are two trades worth making here, Corey Dickerson and Marcell Ozuna. Both are going to be lower in price than Braun and Martinez, and both have a little bit more of a proven track record behind them than Garcia. You can also trade for one of these guys, and then sign Martinez in the offseason. Which trade would you make? Comment below and let your voice be heard!