Five ways Giants can fill left-handed OF hole in lineup
The Giants are running out of space.With Tommy La Stella completing the six-man infield and both their catchers locked into place, they have just five spots for position players on their roster, and you could easily see how all five are taken already.Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson, Austin Slater, Mauricio Dubon and Darin Ruf would form a solid outfield group, but the front office isn't calling it a day. Per sources, as they wait for La Stella's three-year deal to become official after a physical, the Giants continue to be active in the outfield market.Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris are hoping to add one more left-handed hitter before pitchers and catchers report, preferably someone who can play center alongside Mauricio Dubon, but they might have to get creative, as there weren't a lot of viable center fielders on the market to begin with.With less than three weeks until pitchers and catchers report, here are five ways the Giants could try and fill that final hole in their lineup:
Might as well start with the best option, even if there are plenty of reasons to think he'll end up elsewhere.
Bradley Jr., 30, had a .364 OBP and slugged .450 for the Boston Red Sox last season, and he tied for the lead among MLB center fielders with seven Outs Above Average, per Baseball Savant.
He's an elite defender in center who bats from the left side which is why the Red Sox would like him back and the New York Mets and Houston Astros reportedly have interest.
Bradley Jr. is represented by Scott Boras, so it'll likely take more than the Giants' usual one-year deal to get this done, but he would be a perfect fit and could help bridge the gap until guys like Heliot Ramos, Luis Matos and Hunter Bishop are here or getting close.
There are two sluggers out there who have repeatedly been connected to the Giants -- Pederson and former Minnesota Twin Eddie Rosario -- with Pederson being the better option defensively.
Rosario is limited to left field and an alignment of Rosario/Yastrzemski/Dickerson would be a huge issue defensively.
Those rumors have never made much sense. Pederson isn't going to win any Gold Gloves, but at least he figures to offer more help out there. The 28-year-old has a .349 career OBP and .501 slugging percentage against righties and is a Bay Area native who previously played for Farhan Zaidi for the Los Angeles Dodgers, so it's no surprise the Giants made contact early in the offseason.
But those talks haven't gotten serious, per sources, and while Pederson is a good fit for the lineup, at the moment sources say bringing Pederson back home is not likely.
The 30-year-old is a three-time Gold Glove Award winner who once again ranked near the top of the league last season in defensive metrics, although his bat took a step backward.
Kiermaier doesn't reach base at a high clip, but he has a .742 career OPS against right-handers, which is more than acceptable given how much value he brings defensively. Ordinarily, you would think it would cost a lot to pry this type of player away, but the Tampa Bay Rays already dumped Blake Snell's salary this offseason and Kiermaier is owed $26 million the next two years. Kiermaier's name hasn't been out there much, so maybe the Rays are okay with the price, but this is a reminder that the Giants have been talking about trade options all offseason and haven't pulled the trigger yet.
That's one way they could fill this hole, particularly if they're taking on a big salary to lower the price in terms of prospects.
Goodwin played for the Cincinnati Reds last year, which makes him the most likely pick, right?
He didn't actually play that well for them, but he also spent time with the Los Angeles Angels and over the course of the whole year had a 92 OPS+, putting him a bit below league average as a hitter overall. He had a .769 OPS against right-handers last year and is at .768 for his career. Like La Stella, Goodwin's best season came for the Angels in 2019, when he had 17 homers. He has nearly 1,000 big league innings in center field, although the defensive metrics have him as a tick below average.
Still, that's better than others in this free agent class, and if the Giants are really, really committed to a left-handed batter who can play center alongside Dubon, Goodwin is one of few options remaining.
Of course, the Giants could ultimately go in-house.
Duggar hasn't hit in the big leagues yet, but he's still just 27, showed a good approach in the minors and is the best defender the Giants have in center. He often played the corners last year because the staff didn't want to move Dubon around, but if Duggar is on the roster this year the Giants would be smart to at least shift him back to center when both are in the game, taking advantage of his best attribute.
Basabe is a bit of a wild card here. The Giants acquired him for cash considerations from the Chicago White Sox in August and called him up a few weeks later.
The 24-year-old played in nine games before straining his hamstring, and while he had just a couple of hits, he didn't look overwhelmed at the plate despite having limited minor league experience above A-ball. Both of these guys have options remaining, which could make them valuable as a 13th position player.
As it stands, the Giants don't have as much roster flexibility as they would probably like.
