With Hunter Pence on the shelf for at least two months and Angel Pagan’s nagging injuries leaving the Giants a bit short in the outfield, trade rumors have already swirled around the team with more than six weeks left until the MLB trade deadline.
This week, the Giants brought back Travis Ishikawa for a third stint with the team and signed veteran outfielder Chris Denorfia, but both will report to AAA and it remains to be seen if either will make an impact with the big league club.
Despite the fact that most people close to the Giants are skeptical of a big-name trade coming any time soon, there should be some elite outfield talent on the trade market, which has fueled plenty of speculation about San Francisco potentially dealing for an All-Star caliber player.
Whether the Giants opt to go after a big-name player or make a minor move, there are plenty of options in either category. Here’s a look at several candidates and how each might fit on the team.
Jay Bruce
As a member of the last-place Reds and in the midst of a resurgent season, Bruce will almost certainly be traded at the deadline with just a one-year team option remaining on his contract after this season. The left-handed slugger already has 13 home runs, leads the league with 5 triples, and is batting .278, his best mark since 2010. He will likely command a relatively high asking price, depending on how well he is able to keep up his current performance. The Giants are already lefty-laden offensively, and the high wall in right field at AT&T Park might diminish Bruce’s home run ability, but he has hit .356 in San Francisco since 2013.
Ryan Braun
It is highly unlikely that the Giants would take on Braun’s four years and $76 million remaining on his contract, but the Brewers may be willing to provide a bit of financial relief, and the ten-year veteran is playing at a very high level. Braun is having his best year since being suspended for PED use in 2013, batting .321 with 9 home runs and a .909 OPS. With Pagan’s contract expiring at the end of this season, Braun would solidify the Giants’ outfield for the next few years alongside Pence and Denard Span, but it would take a hefty package to acquire him.
Carlos Gomez/Colby Rasmus
The Astros are the defending AL West champs, so even though they currently sit nine games out of first place, they likely won’t trade assets like Gomez or Rasmus unless they slip further out of contention in late July. Both are free agents after this year and both have struggled this season. Gomez has batted an abysmal .212 since coming to the Astros at last year’s trade deadline and owns a .182 batting average and 2 home runs in 2016. Rasmus has 8 home runs and 34 RBI, but is hitting just .221. He set a career-high in home runs with 25 last season, but might struggle to reproduce those power numbers at AT&T Park.
Carlos Gonzalez
Gonzalez appears to be proving that last season’s 40-home run outburst wasn’t an aberration, having already cranked 13 long balls this year. Like Braun, Gonzalez would likely demand a significant return in prospects, with one more year remaining on his deal for 2017 at $20 million. The Rockies are also playing as well as they have in recent memory, hanging around in third place in the NL West at just four games under .500, so it’s unlikely Gonzalez would be traded any time soon. The flexibility of him having played at least 200 career games at each outfield position would be a welcome and versatile addition to the Giants, however he has struggled with injuries throughout his career.
Jose Bautista
Like the Rockies and Astros, the Blue Jays are hovering around .500 and coming off last year’s impressive playoff run, they might not be eager to dump stars in June, but Bautista has an expiring contract. He hit 40 home runs last season and has 12 this year while leading the league in walks and carrying a .369 OBP. The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo wrote that the Giants would be interested in Bautista should he be made available, but Bautista has primarily played in right field the past few seasons, a position Pence will fill when he returns from injury.
Melvin Upton/Jon Jay
The Padres kicked off the trade season by sending James Shields to the White Sox this week, showing they’re eager to start shedding salaries. Upton is owed about $25 million through the end of 2017, but the Giants wouldn’t likely have to pick up more than a few million dollars of his monster deal if they were to acquire him. Upton has stolen 13 bases this year and can play above average defense in left and centerfield, but hasn’t hit above .259 in a season since 2008. Jay is the better performer right now, hitting .291 with 19 doubles, and the former Cardinal has experience at all three outfield spots. He is also on a much more team-friendly deal, with just his $7 million salary for this year remaining.
Jeff Francouer
The sheer mention of the Giants re-acquiring “Frenchy” may bring shudders to Giants fans who remember his 22-game stint with San Francisco in 2013, when he hit just .194. But the right-handed hitter is quietly having a solid year in Atlanta, where he played his first and best seasons. He is hitting .282 with two home runs and a respectable .704 OPS, but he also had a serviceable 326 at-bats with Philadelphia last season when he hit .258 with 13 home runs. He would by far be the cheapest option for the Giants on this list, and is only signed on a one-year, $1 million deal.
Carl Crawford
The 142-million-dollar man was recently designated for assignment by the Dodgers with a year and a half and $35 million remaining on the deal he signed with Boston in 2011, but he will surely clear waivers. If he is released, Crawford would be an intriguing option for the Giants, who could sign him cheaply and hope he returns to at least half of what he was in his heyday with Tampa, when he led the league in triples and steals four times each. Crawford has played 99 games in the last two seasons and managed just four home runs and 22 RBI. Crawford would likely want to be assured time on a major league roster if he signs elsewhere, something San Francisco may not be able to offer. But the Giants could be tempted by the possibility that Crawford can bounce back and help them beat their archrivals and his former team.