SF Giants: Three Left-Handed Power Hitting Targets

SF Giants Under The Radar Targets
2. Matt Adams

Matt Adams may be familiar to SF Giants fans because he was a longtime member of the St. Louis Cardinals and was on both the 2012 and 2014 NLCS roster when the Giants defeated the Cardinals to advance to the World Series.

Adams was a very solid first baseman with the Cardinals for a number of years before he was traded to the Atlanta Braves in 2017. In his stint with the Braves that year, he hit .271/.315/.543 with 19 home runs and 58 RBI.

He joined the Washington Nationals in 2018 where he hit .257/.332/.510 with 18 home runs and 48 RBI as a platoon bat before being traded back to the Cardinals for the second half of the year in which he struggled. He signed with the Nationals again in 2019, hitting .226/.276/.465 with 20 home runs and 56 RBI, helping the Nationals win their first World Series ever that season.

Last season, he signed with the Braves and hit a putrid .184/.216/.347 with 2 homers and 9 RBI. This is a far cry from the consistency he has shown throughout most of his career, but it also means he might be signable on a minor-league deal, where he could be invited to Spring Training with a chance to earn an Opening Day roster spot.

He is not extremely versatile, but can play both first base and left field like Ruf. He also provides that versatility in the lineup that Zaidi and Kapler like as he traditionally hits far better against right-handed pitchers and could come off the bench in a late-game situation to face a righty.