San Francisco Giants: Three Outside Options to Fill Left Field Void
If the San Francisco Giants want to win it all, they are going to need to fill their left field void. Who exactly should they trade for?
The San Francisco Giants were unable to keep their even-year streak alive in 2016, as they finally fell victim to the powerhouse Cubs. It did not happen without a fight, though, and if it weren’t for a late game meltdown they very likely would have taken the series.
Now, heading into 2017, the Giants have another streak to worry about. This, of course, is the odd-year streak that has seen them miss the playoffs in every odd year since 2005. The last time the Giants made the postseason in an odd year was 2003, marking six consecutive odd-year sit outs.
However, the Giants seem to be making leaps and bounds with their ball club. They improved their biggest area of need, the closer role, and still have a stellar pitching staff. Their offense is great, making the Giants a few tools away from being World Series-bound. Those tools, being the rest of the bullpen and left field, need to be addressed.
Today, we are going to discuss how the San Francisco Giants can fix their void in left field. Not to knock Jarrett Parker, as he has had a great spring, but the Giants need a more dynamic player in left field.
Therefore, the San Francisco Giants could end up pursuing one of these three players should they look to fill their left field void.
Gerardo Parra
While it may not happen anytime in the immediate future, the Giants should certainly inquire with the Rockies regarding Gerardo Parra. Parra joins an already stacked outfield and is blocking young stud David Dahl from being an everyday starter. The Rockies would be wise to flip Parra for an area of need, such as pitching, and the Giants can provide just that.
Parra may have had a bit of a down year in 2016, but his value is still great to the San Francisco Giants organization. First of all, Parra is still a great fielder that would fit in nicely alongside Hunter Pence and Denard Span. Plus, Parra’s batting stats aren’t terrible and certainly are above the level that the team currently has.
Last season, Parra batted .253 in 102 games played. While that may not be a spectacular batting average, Parra is a career .274 hitter, proving that 2016 may have only been a dud due to injury. One blemish of a season should not be a complete deciding point for the Giants. He is not particularly old either, only 29 years old, so it is not like his talent is quickly diminishing.
The Giants would likely get away with dealing a rotation arm and a minor prospect for Parra. The Rockies would likely take a young arm in Ty Blach, or perhaps a more established guy such as Matt Cain.
Who know exactly what the Colorado Rockies would want for Parra, who is only blocking one of their best young talents. What I do know, however, is that the Giants have the ability to pay any realistic fee they will ask for.
Brett Gardner
With Clint Frazier patiently biding his time down in the minors, the Yankees may be looking to trade Brett Gardner at the deadline. Gardner has been a member of the Yankees organization his entire career, dating back to his draft selection in 2005.
Gardner is signed through the 2018 season with a team option for 2019. Meaning if the Yankees did not want to bring him back when he is 35, they don’t have to. This realistically leaves the Yankees with two more seasons with Gardner which, at the deadline, will be down to a year and a half.
By that time Clint Frazier may be licking his chops in the minors ready for some big league action. With Aaron Judge, Jacoby Ellsbury and Gardner all blocking him, it is less than likely he could start for the pinstripes anytime soon. That is, unless Gardner gets dealt.
Gardner would be a great addition atop the Giants lineup and would provide more of that base-stealing prowess that the Giants love. The best bet for San Francisco may be to deal pitching prospect Tyler Beede. He may be the best prospect they have, but a straight up swap between the two would be more than possible.
But the Giants may be pressed to get a better left fielder in a package deal that includes Beede, a package deal for…
Ryan Braun
If the Giants put together the right package deal they could easily land Ryan Braun and instantly shoot up in World Series contention. While he may not be the Ryan Braun of old, he certainly does still hold immense value and would give San Francisco a deadly 1-2 combo in Buster Posey and Braun.
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To get this deal done they would likely have to send Beede, outfielder Bryan Reynolds and perhaps a big league arm like Jeff Samardzija. While Giants fans likely don’t like the terms of this deal, and it is the least likely, the deal could be struck between the two sides.
Braun’s 30 home runs, 91 runs batted in, 16 stolen bases and .305 batting average would fit nicely on any team, especially in San Francisco. Instead of just finding a better-than-replacement-level talent, the Giants can easily strike gold in this Braun deal and prove to all of the naysayers that they can win in odd years too.
Braun’s name has been circling in trade rumors for years now, and as his contract gets closer and closer to ending, the more and more the Brewers are likely to deal him. Hopefully, for Giants fans, that deal sends him to the Bay Area.
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Well, there you go Giants fans. I know that the left field void is a big displeasure and sore spot for the starting nine, and according to these San Francisco trade ideas, it can be fixed.