Yasiel Puig’s rumored deal makes sense for San Francisco giants

Last week, there were some rumors that the San Francisco Giants had an almost completed deal with free agent outfielder Yasiel Puig. The rumors have not been confirmed, until now anyway, and Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi offered just a no-compromise statement on how the team is always exploring a range of options. Whether there is an agreement or not, the rumors make sense for the most basic reasons: Puig would be cheap and he can get it right.

A star in his early years, Puig has wandered between average and good in the past five seasons. His batting average has been pretty consistent: .263 in 2016 and 2017, .267 each for the next two years, but his walking speed and power have been quite variable in the same time period. His defense has also decreased somewhat as his outfield reach has faded, though his arm still scores more points. A team thinking about signing him will see a good hitter, a dubious but not terrible defender and an eccentric personality.

It’s unclear how much that last point has led to Puig remaining unsigned to this point, or whether he’s simply asking for more than what teams want to pay for something like an average league contributor. Former stars who have lost some sparkle in the years before free agency have been vulnerable in recent markets: They saw their peers sign big deals in the first half of the last decade, but those deals have largely been exhausted. for mid-level veterans. . Teams would prefer to see what they have with young players earning less than the coach, who may well be better than the expensive player entering at age thirty.

Which brings us to the San Francisco Giants. Add Puig to that team and he’ll take turns at … Hunter Pence? Billy Hamilton? Steven Duggar? Alex Dickerson and Mike Yastrzemski are drawn at regular line-up points (Fangraphs depth charts actually make Yaz get the plurality of plate appearances in center and right field), but after that, it’s a collection of prospects they have not yet realized. and spaghetti veterans on the wall. Puig would improve the team. On a one-year contract, he could be rejected by a mid-season B-level prospect (any “midseason” ends in a theoretical 2020 season) or boost an unlikely playoff career if rebounds go to the Giants. in a short season period. Puig still has good tools, and maybe he can get a boost from a new environment, especially one like San Francisco that enjoys good character and a new coaching staff.

And if it doesn’t work, it won’t cost the Giants much. At this point, if baseball resumes, Puig will want to find a team quickly. That probably means taking a one-year deal for something in the top seven figures on a short-season deal. Those are the types of deals that high-budget teams should bet on in recent years. We can’t say for sure if those rumors are true, but it’s a sensible bet for a team of Giants in transition.