SF Giants rumors: San Francisco targets outfielders Eddie Rosario, Jackie Bradley Jr.
The San Francisco Giants continue their search to find an additional left-handed bat in the outfield. In the latest SF Giants rumors, Eddie Rosario and Jackie Bradley Jr. have emerged as potential targets. This news stems from a report by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Bradley Jr. is a free agent after eight years with the Boston Red Sox. Rosario, a six-year MLB veteran, was allowed to walk away from the Minnesota Twins as he approaches his third year of arbitration.
SF Giants rumors: Will Giants add Eddie Rosario or Jackie Bradley Jr.?
The two names offer San Francisco a variety of choices in constructing the outfield. Rosario and Bradley present rather opposing skill sets.
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Bradley projects as a plus-defender with speed and the ability to make things happen on the basepaths. Rosario, on the other hand, is lauded more for his power bat at the plate while projecting as a slightly above-average defender.
The @sfchronicle has learned that the Giants' outfield targets include Eddie Rosario, Jackie Bradley Jr., with thoughts from a scout about which player might suit them better: https://t.co/gSoX1E2kx9
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) January 24, 2021
San Francisco currently employs six outfielders on its 40-man roster. Mike Yastrzemski holds a firm grasp over the starting job in RF with Mauricio Dubon getting the majority of playing time in center. Alex Dickerson and Darin Ruf split time in left field, while the others provide depth.
Bradley seems like a perfect fit for the spacious Oracle Park outfield, bringing his Gold Glove defense to center field. The 30-year-old enjoyed the best year of his MLB career last season, slashing a .283/.364/.450 hitting line with seven home runs, five stolen bases, and 11 doubles.
His defense is superb, it’s simply a question of which Bradley shows up at the plate. The ceiling is magnificent, adding a gap-hitting contact hitter with enough speed to disrupt the running game and notch triples with ease. Unfortunately, the floor is quite low as well. Bradley has hit below .250 five different times in his career.
Rosario paints a different picture for San Francisco. The 29-year-old is primarily a left fielder and owns a career hitting line of .257/.316/.476, averaging close to 30 home runs, 90 RBIs and 172 hits over 162 games. His defense won’t ever wow you like Bradley’s, but he is more than capable.
Through 581 career games in left field, Rosario successfully fields 99.2 percent of routine plays and 77.4 percent of likely plays according to FanGraphs. For plays considered as even opportunities for either fielder or batter, Rosario converts 54.2 percent of these chances.
On the other hand, when playing center field or right field, Rosario only converts 33.3 percent of these even opportunities.
If San Francisco is willing to take a chance on Bradley’s bat, then he seems like the perfect solution. Of course, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has said he felt the team was one left-handed bat short this past season.
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Rosario is the better hitter of the two if the Giants’ lineup takes priority. It’s clear, San Francisco is keeping its options open this offseason and, at some point, price tags may play consideration in this decision.