Giants: Pros and cons of signing former rival Yasiel Puig

Yasiel Puig is still a free agent and the San Francisco Giants are still in the market for a corner outfielder. Is there a match? It is complicated.

The San Francisco Giants have not been connected to Yasiel Puig yet this offseason.

However, he does appear to be a fit on paper.

The lack of a rumors connecting him to the Giants has certainly not stopped various figures surrounding the organization from discussing the idea:

As currently constructed, the Giants have Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson penciled in as two of the three starters in the outfield. Both bat from the left side, and the Giants could achieve a little more balance by adding a right-handed bat.

In addition to Yastrzemski and Dickerson, the Giants plan to give at-bats to several outfielders, including Steven Duggar, Jaylin Davis, and Austin Slater.

Similarly, San Francisco has brought in both Joey Rickard and Jamie Westbrook on minor league contracts with camp invites.

Rickard finished the year with the Orange and Black where he posted a .713 OPS across 54 at-bats. In his short time, he proved adept at hitting left-handed pitching and roaming the expansive Oracle Park confines.

With all this being said, none of the names mentioned above have a proven track record. The 2020 season could be one in which the Giants really test out their organizational inventor by giving Slater, Duggar, and Davis all substantial playing time.

However, if the Giants plan to be competitive in the near future, they will need to start making moves that improve the roster. And, the longer Puig stays a free agent, the more likely his prospective market shrinks, thereby reducing the leverage he has with teams.

If that’s how things play out, it could be an opportunistic move by Giants team president Farhan Zaidi to at least kick the tires on Puig.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at what Puig brings to the table with a rundown of the pros and cons of adding him to the roster.