San Francisco Giants acquire Alejandro De Aza from Red Sox

The San Francisco Giants pulled a last-minute waiver deadline deal Sunday night, acquiring outfielder Alejandro De Aza from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Luis Ysla. The Red Sox will also be paying $650k of the remaining $930k on De Aza’s 2015 contract.

De Aza marks the second outfield acquisition this month for the Giants, who also swung a deal for Reds outfielder Marlon Byrd on August 20. De Aza, who hit .292 in 60 games with Boston this year, will help Byrd fill in for injured outfielders Angel Pagan and Hunter Pence.

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While its debatable whether the Giants actually got better in the month of August, they certainly used the extended waiver trade period to their advantage. San Francisco struck out on trying to find an injury replacement for second baseman Joe Panik, but the club did manage to plug two of three significant injuries in a 10-day span without breaking the bank in the process.

De Aza entered the season primed to help Baltimore fill the void in their outfield created by the offseason departures of Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis. But after hitting just .214 through 30 games, the club shipped him up to Boston in exchange for minor-league pitcher Joe Gunkel. The 31-year-old proceeded to turn his season around, and made the most of his increased playing time in August to garner trade interest from multiple contenders, now finding himself in the thick of a fight for the National League West title.

Because the Giants managed to get the De Aza trade in just before the deadline, the outfielder will be eligible for the team’s postseason roster if they find themselves playing in October. The Giants will then likely say goodbye to their new outfielder, as his contract is up at the end of the 2015 season.

Next: Royals Acquire Johnny Gomes

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