5 Trade Candidates The SF Giants Should Pursue with the Universal DH in mind

The universal DH is likely going to be included in the next Collective Barraging Agreement. Now, for the second time in their history, the SF Giants will no longer have a pitcher jam their lineup. With that in mind, who should they go after to be their full-time designated hitter in 2022?

5 Trade Candidates The SF Giants Should Pursue with the Universal DH

The day that some baseball fans have dreaded - or a day that some have even craved - for a long time is likely coming. As of this writing, Major League Baseball is still in a work stoppage, and while a couple of meetings have occurred, with the most recent one being on January 31st, there is no end in sight. However, the conclusion many have come to is that the universal DH is coming to the game. For some players - like Nelson Cruz, for example, this means that all of a sudden pure designated hitters will have 15 more job openings in 2022 than they did the previous 50 years.

The Giants, being one of the 15 teams now, will need to allot future payroll to the position. It's been seen time and time again that if you do not have a sufficient plan at DH, it will be hard to keep up with the teams that do. Designated hitters require a different kind of routine than a position player would. Maybe that's a dinosaur take, but not even 10 years ago it would've been something to watch if a right fielder, for example, play shortstop. Although swiss army knife players are becoming more and more prominent, platooning, or using multiple players over the course of the season on purpose, at DH has never really made sense to me.

With that being said, it would be wise for the Giants to invest in a full-time DH. So, who should they target? I came up with five names, some may be openly available, others may not be moved, but these five would provide serious pop in the lineup.

Honorable mentions that didn't make the list but are players the Giants could look into as a last resort: Robinson Cano, Wil Myers, and Eric Hosmer. Each makes A LOT of money. If they are traded, they would likely be moved to a basement dweller as a salary dump, not to a playoff team like the Giants.

Now, let's dive into the five that made the list.

5 Trade Candidates The SF Giants Should Pursue with the Universal DH

Luke Voit, New York Yankees

Voit almost won MVP after his unbelievable performance during the 60-game season in 2020. However, since then due to injuries, the Yankees trading for Anthony Rizzo, and changes due to shifting of viewpoints within the organization, Voit found himself as an outcast in 2021.

Now, a trade seems more likely than Voit dawning Yankee pinstripes in 2022. Paging San Francisco. Voit in his career has a respectable .271 batting average while hitting 68 home runs and driving in 182 runs. More recently, in 2021, Voit hit only 11 home runs in limited playing time and batted only .239. His WAR for the season would only come out to be 0.3.

The right-handed hitting Voit is still only 30 and is under team control through the 2024 season. His contract is relatively cheap; only a $5.2M base salary in 2022 with two more years of Arbitration remaining, so money should not be a factor when deciding whether or not to acquire Voit. If Voit can receive sustainable playing time, he should be able to get back to being the playing he was before the injuries. It's a low-risk-high-reward type move for any team, which is why the Giants should make the call.

With Voit in the fold, you could play him at first when Belt gets the days off in the field, and it'd leave you with an infield that looks like this, hypothetically:

1B/DH: Belt/Voit
2B: right now, La Stella, ultimately TBD
SS: Crawford
3B: Longoria

The projections for Voit are favorable the more he plays. Some projections -- while he is still a Yankee -- have him below 250 at-bats and less than 20 home runs. Others have him over 350 at-bats with anywhere between 25-30 home runs. If I did my own projection, I would guestimate he finishes (again, assuming he gets actual playing time, and stays healthy) with 25 home runs with around 90 RBIs. A bounce-back season is in store for Voit, and if the Giants were able to get him, he would help bolster the lineup.

Here is one more nugget for Voit to further wet the appetite, and to appease any questions about whether or not his power would transfer to Oracle park. In 2019, Voit hit 21 home runs. All 21 of them would have been home runs at Oracle Park--THE 2019 VERSION, BEFORE the walls were moved. In 2020, Voit hit 22 home runs, and at Oracle Park 20 of them would have still been homers. Finally, in a limited sample in 2021, he hit just 11--but all 11 would have went out at Oracle.

Not trying to turn this into a please-trade-for-Luke-Voit-as-soon-as-the-lockout-is-over piece, but I think Voit would be the perfect San Francisco Giant.

5 Trade Candidates The SF Giants Should Pursue with the Universal DH

J.D. Martinez, Boston Red Sox

Like Olson, J.D. Martinez bounced back in 2021, even earning an All-Star apparence, after a rather forgettable 2020, which is good news for the Red Sox. He mashed 28 home runs and drove in 99 runs for a Red Sox team that was two wins short of the World Series. Let me just preface this as well by saying a trade of Martinez anywhere is not likely unless Boston decides to cut payroll with Martinez having a $19.3M salary for 2022.

It's hard to know whether or not the full $19.3M salary would deter Farhan and company from either considering it, but Martinez would be worth the price based on not only his 2021 performance but his career track record.

Martinez will turn 35 by the season's end and has turned in an impressive career for someone who did not get full playing time until he was 26. He has a career batting average of .290, slugged 266 home runs, and knocked in 837 runs. His career WAR to this point is an impressive 26.8.

Analytical speaking, there are not many power hitters like Martinez. According to baseballsavant.mlb.com, Martinez is in the 90th percentile or above in the following categories: average exit velocity, hard-hit percentage, expected batting average, and expected slugging percentage. AKA THE MAN HITS HARD AND GETS ON BASE.

If acquired, the logical spot to play Martinez would be DH (of course), however, he does have plenty of experience in both right and left field. Last season he logged 300 innings in the corners.

Lastly, if there were any questions as if Martinez's power would transfer from Fenway Park to Oracle Park, the answer is a definitive yes. Out of the 31 home runs he hit, 27 of them still would've gone out at Oracle. (Bonus tidbit: if he played for the Cincinnati Reds he would've hit EIGHT extra home runs, and for the Dodgers? Four extra).

5 Trade Candidates The SF Giants Should Pursue with the Universal DH

Josh Donaldson, Minnesota Twins

The most expensive option on the list, but maybe could be had for less than anyone else, and his salary could even less if the Twins were extremely motivated to move away from Donaldson. And maybe, just maybe, the replacement for Buster Posey at catcher. (Seeing how he hasn't played a single inning at catcher since 2012, that is DEFINITELY not happening).

When dissecting Donaldson, let us start with the bad. First, he's 36. Second, he's played 163 out of a possible 222 games the past two seasons because of various injuries, so he hasn't exactly been durable. Next, whether it was due to the lack of games played or just hitting the inevitable father time cliff, Dondalson's power numbers have dipped the past two years. Before 2020, Donaldson hit 30 or more home runs in three of the previous five seasons. However, in the last two, he hit a combined 32.

Let us not forget the contact, which lays out like this:

2022, 2023: $21.7M
2024 (team option): $16.0M (or a buyout of $8M)

Now let's talk the good. Donaldson was top four of all of baseball in average exit velocity (and a career-high), and the right-handed third baseman is still in the top percentile in almost every offensive analytical category. The former MVP, when he plays, still rakes.

If the Twins are out of the playoff race early like they were a season ago, moving away from Donaldson to shed payroll might be one of their first moves, and if they are willing to take back some salary, then the Giants should be interested. He could slide in a third when Longoria has a day off, be the full-time DH, or even, despite his very limited playing time, give Belt some relief and start at first from time to time. The Posey comment earlier was clearly a joke, however, this one could be more plausible, despite logging FIVE career games (which is the same amount that he's played shortstop). Just knowing how to play these positions gives the Giants more options, which is never a bad thing.

One more thing: his power plays at Oracle. Out of the 26 home runs he hit a season ago, he would've hit that many plus SIX more if they were at Oracle. A trade for Donaldson would likely be a last-last resort, but it would not be a bad move if Minnesota was willing to take back some salary.

Another aside: I learned that there is a "No Doubter Percentage" stat for home runs, and 69% of Donaldson's home runs in 2021 were classified as a "No Doubter". Out of everyone who hit at least 25 home runs, Donaldson ranked was third in all of baseball in No Doubter % behind Kike Hernandez and CJ Cron. Mike Yastrzemski was the highest-ranking Giant, with 64% of his homers being considered "No Doubters". The more you know.

5 Trade Candidates The SF Giants Should Pursue with the Universal DH

Garrett Cooper, Miami Marlins

Now, THIS is the perfect Farhan guy. He is 31 and he's played in just 239 games for the Marlins since 2018. When he does play he has played well. In 146 plate appearances in 2021, he hit .333 against the fastball.

He is due a salary of $2.9M for the upcoming season, and likely does not factor into the Marlins long term plans. The right-handed hitting Cooper also spent the last three months of the season recovering from elbow surgery in his non-throwing arm. With both of those things in mind getting Cooper would not cost much, likely nothing higher than a Double-A prospect, and would be another good experiment, especially if the Giants do not want to fully commit to a designated hitter. If he plays well, great. He isn't due for free agency until 2024 at the earliest, and his arbitration numbers likely won't even be too demanding. If he doesn't play that well in bulk playing time, then the Giants could either cut bait or just send him down to the minors.

The Giants already have Darin Ruf, so an acquisition of Cooper might be redundant, or Cooper, who does in fact play both the outfield and first base, could just take over the Ruf role. Of course, for this exercise, we are talking about Cooper for the DH role, which would fit him well with his injury recovery, anyway. A low-risk, high-reward player who fits the classic "nobody believes in me, not even my own team" which Farhan takes a liking to.

I'm not sure the Giants are craving to acquire anyone on this list, but if I had to guess, I would say Luke Voit would be the most likely acquisition of the five.

Another name I thought of while composing this was Mike Moustakas, so let me give you a quick rundown: he's 33, is owed $16M and $18M the next two years respectively with a $20M team option in 2024, but had one of if not the worst season of his career with the Reds in 2021. He played in just 62 games, had a near career-low in home runs, and on-base percentage, and had career-lows in RBIs, batting average, and OPS+. (This worked out to a season WAR of -1.0).

With those stats not looking the best, and not knowing what to expect from Moustakas going forward, I highly doubt this is a trade the Giants would even entertain, which is why he did not make the list. At the same time knowing how unpredictable sports as a whole are would I be surprised if Mike Moustakas is the starting second basemen or DH for the Giants in 2022? Not at all.

Once the lockout ends, there will likely be very little time to make major roster moves before Spring Training, but if there were any the Giants would need to make, finding a full-time designated hitter would be one of them.