SF Giants fans may have to say goodbye to longest-tenured Giant at trade deadline

As the SF Giants look to improve their team ahead of the trade deadline, one player they could potentially try to move is Mike Yastrzemski. If they do, fans would have to say goodbye to the longest-tenured Giant.

Yastrzemski has been a Giant since May of 2019. He was a diamond in the rough find by Farhan Zaidi and has proven to be a very solid player in his career. While he has never quite hit as well as many would have hoped, he has been a well-rounded player providing value on defense and on the base paths with an ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark.

SF Giants could decide to move on from Mike Yastrzemski at the trade deadline

This season, Yastrzemski is slashing .244/.340/.384 with seven home runs and 27 RBI. He started the season off strong and became the team's leadoff hitter against right-handed starters before going ice cold.

He has turned things around as of late and has flashed more of his power which seemed to elude him for well over a month.

However, Yastrzemski is going to be a free agent after this season. While the Giants could bring him back, it seems like they could try to upgrade at right field in the offseason. The rumor mill has already connected the team to slugger Kyle Tucker who will also be a free agent.

Yet, we know the Giants have a tendency to swing and miss on big free agents. That is why it could make some sense to deal Yastrzemski now and try to pick up an upgrade.

One interesting move they could make would be to trade for Bay Area native Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland is 40-42 on the season so they may be looking to sell. Kwan is slashing .295/.358/.419 with six home runs and 25 RBI. He is also a three-time Gold Glove winner in the outfield and has 11 stolen bases this season so he brings value everywhere.

We looked at a potential trade back in the offseason that would have sent Yastrzemski to the Guardians in exchange for Kwan. San Francisco would probably have to include a decent prospect in the deal to get Cleveland interested.

Kwan is arbitration-eligible for the next few seasons and is actually making about half as much as Yastrzemski is this season so the Giants would not be taking on a ton of money. Essentially, the Giants would be getting a solid replacement for Yastrzemski without breaking the bank.

Yastrzemski has been a fan-favorite Giant for a while now so seeing him depart would be tough. He epitomizes what it means to be a Giant with how he plays hard and goes about things the right way. Yet, as the team looks towards the future it may make the most sense to trade him if they can get a good return.