Giants: Five more potential “bad contract” trade ideas

Houston Astros: OF Josh Reddick

This might be less likely now that the Astros lost ace Gerrit Cole to the Yankees, but Josh Reddick remains a superfluous piece on Houston’s roster. He is one of many corner outfield options, he’s 32 years old, he’s owed $13 million and he will be coming off shoulder surgery.

It’s unclear whether the Astros have any big spending plans this offseason, but offloading Reddick’s salary would free up some spending power. Reddick is set to make a very similar amount to Cozart next season. Unlike Cozart, he has been much healthier and more productive.

Over the past two seasons, Reddick has only produced about 1 WAR per season, but he has been a serviceable player. His 15 home runs a year alongside a .260/.318/.405 line is nothing to brag about, but would have been one of the better lines on the Giants roster.

On the open market, Reddick would likely be worth around $3-5 million, which means his contract is not quite to the level of Cozart’s.

The Giants would be unlikely to the same level of prospect they did in the Cozart deal, but Giants team president Farhan Zaidi might have an affinity for Reddick. Zaidi was part of the front office brass that swung trades to acquire him in Oakland and Los Angeles.

His propensity to draw walks, put the ball in play, and hit for occasional power would give the Giants a reasonably safe option at an outfield corner, which is especially important if they want to move Mike Yastrzemski to center.

Pitching prospects Enoli Paredes and Cionel Perez have long intrigued me and would be two players I would target. Both are close to the major leagues with very good stuff, but struggle with command and consistency. The Giants are starved for pitchers with upside and both have plenty of that. With that said, they each carry their share of risk that might convince the Astros to part with one of them.