San Francisco Giants: Three free-agent outfielders to avoid this offseason

Billy Hamilton

There was a time when baseball enthusiasts of all fandoms were anxiously awaiting the call-up of Billy Hamilton.

Everybody wanted to see just how fast he really was and if he could replicate his 2011 and 2012 seasons in the minors when he stole 103 and 155 bases, respectively.

The speed has been as advertised and according to MLB’s Statcast, Hamilton has run up to 30 feet per second, or roughly 20.45 miles per hour.

He’s street-legal on some roads.

Now 29 years old, he has amassed 299 stolen bases in seven years at the MLB level, which amounts to 43 steals per year. He enters the offseason with a $7.5 million mutual option for 2020 that carries a $1 million buyout after being picked up off the waiver wire by the Atlanta Braves, so there’s a good chance he will be entering free agency this winter.

So why is he on the list of outfielders the San Francisco Giants should avoid?

To answer that, let’s first take a trip down memory lane. There was once someone on the Giants roster with a very similar skill set by the name of Brett Butler.

During a 17-year MLB career, Butler spent three seasons with the Giants from 1988 to 1990. His approach was simple; slap the ball in play, then run.

That approach led him to a .290/.377/.376 line and 558 steals over the course of his career.

Unfortunately, that approach doesn’t play as well in today’s home run-centric game, and Hamilton has just 21 career home runs. So in order to make full use of his speed, he needs to get on base where he can be a disruptive force.

The problem is, he doesn’t get on base enough. Hamilton’s career line currently sits at .242/.297/.326.  Put another way, Hamilton’s career on-base percentage is lower than Butler’s career batting average.

Even in his best season, Hamilton was a .260/.321/.343 hitter. That’s simply not enough offensive production to be an everyday player in today’s game.

Can Hamilton fly down the baseline? Yup.

Could he effectively patrol a shrinking Oracle Park outfield? For sure!

But knowing that he does not effectively use his best tool to produce runs, is he worth pursuing in free agency? Ultimately, no.

Carlos Gonzalez

Carlos Gonzalez was on the San Francisco Giants radar last offseason.

Team president Farhan Zaidi and agent Scott Boras reportedly discussed a potential fit during spring training, though CarGo eventually wound up signing with the Cleveland Indians on a minor league deal.

Before you go licking your chops at the chance of getting a career .285/.343/.500 hitter who averages 20 home runs per season, there are some necessary reality checks.

First off, don’t expect the legs he once had — on the bases or in the outfield. The decline in speed here was nearly instantaneous. After four consecutive seasons of 20-plus steals from 2010 to 2013, he has totaled just 15 in the past six seasons.

But most people look to CarGo for his power anyway, so forget the speed.

Gonzalez has a whole decade’s worth of stats in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field with the Colorado Rockies. There’s going to be some obvious inflation within the extra-base statistical categories because of that, but we can still analyze the numbers.

Some pundits may point to career highlights of Gonzalez as proof of his worth, which include a 40-homer season, three seasons with a .300 average, four seasons of at least 90 RBI, three Gold Gloves, and a third-place finish in 2010 NL MVP voting.

The reality of the situation is that he’s simply no longer the hitter he once was during his prime.

At 34 years old, he’s coming off a season where he played just 45 games at the MLB level, hitting .200/.289/.283 with three doubles and three home runs in 166 plate appearances with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs.

He was released by the Cubs at the beginning of July and remained a free agent for the remainder of the season.

While his track record is impressive, it would be wise to steer clear of Carlos Gonzalez at this point in his career.

Yasiel Puig

Oh, how San Francisco Giants fans would love to avoid this one.

Yasiel Puig will be an intriguing candidate in free agency this year after another strong season between the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians.

“But wait, didn’t someone just write that Puig could be a good free-agent target for the Giants?”

Yes, and Puig did finish with the same solid numbers this season (.276 BA, 24 HR, 19 SB) as he averaged with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 and 2018 (.264 BA, 26 HR, 15 SB), so the production and consistency are there.

More from Around the Foghorn

• SF Giants: Checking in on the Tony Watson trade
• San Francisco Giants fans need this Captain Brandon Belt shirt
• SF Giants: Brandon Belt’s surge has powered winning streak
• SF Giants hitting prospects week in review (8/28-9/10)
• SF Giants: Pitching depth bolstered with waiver claim

And yes, he has a cannon for an arm, which would be beneficial in the spacious right field of Oracle Park.

This past season was Puig’s first experience in changing teams, and he did so twice. He is an emotional player — Giants fans have seen that more than once — and the emotions seem to have gotten the best of him when changing teams.

Puig was traded to the Reds last December. Even with months to adapt to new surroundings, team, and culture, Puig finished March and April hitting just .192/.226/.354.

The numbers improved — had hit .289 from June 1 through July 31 — and he had brought his season totals up to 22 home runs, 61 RBI, and 14 steals by the trade deadline. But less we forget, that was done while playing half of his games in hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.

Puig was then sent to the Cleveland Indians at the trade deadline in the three-team deal that brought Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati.

He hit a respectable .253/.327/.404 with just two home runs after the trade. Decent numbers, but not what he had produced pre-trade, and not what the Indians were hoping for when they acquired him. He went without a home run in 97 plate appearances in the month of September.

There are a lot of questions to ask here.

How will his emotions impact him if he were to join the San Francisco Giants? What would the statistical result be?

More important still, what would the locker room be like if he were acquired and the team was to bring back Madison Bumgarner?

The San Francisco Giants may have found some mid- to long-term solutions in the outfield in 2019. If the team is going to target an outfielder this offseason, they should steer clear of Billy Hamilton, Carlos Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig.