Mariners could look to acquire an outfielder from San Fran as Giants become sellers

Even after acquiring Randy Arozarena, the Mariners could use another outfielder, especially with Julio missing significant time because of his high ankle sprain. Right field is unquestionably the weakest position in the outfield with Mitch Haniger continuing to struggle both offensively and defensively. Is this a gap that could be filled by Mike Yastrzemski?

Yaz has had a great past two years. In 2024 specifically, he's slashing .248/.325/.431 with nine doubles, six triples, and eight home runs for a 116 OPS+. It's the best he has been at the plate since the COVID-shortened 2020 season where he placed 8th in MVP voting.

What Makes Him Special?

He hits the ball reasonably hard, averaging an exit velocity of 90.2 mph and a hard-hit rate of 43.2%, but the best feature of his approach is his plate discipline. He chases just 20.2% of pitches outside of the zone, placing him in the 93rd percentile for the stat.

Unfortunately, his true powers are held back by his suboptimal launch angle. With a fly-ball rate that's nearly 10% higher than league-average, Yastrzemski often finds himself at the mercy of opposing outfielders. The tides may be turning however, as his .842 OPS over 55 plate appearances in June and .919 OPS over 60 plate appearances in July show a positive trend.

Defensively, he's an interesting case. He has 0 outs above average but seven defensive runs saved, two very different figures. This tells the story of an outfielder who doesn't make the flashiest of diving catches but is typically positioned well, doesn't make errors, and is a strong overall fielder. This makes sense as he's a little slower than average but seems to have a good baseball IQ given his relatively high number of triples and ability to be in the right place at the right time.

What Will He Cost?

Contractually, he received a one-year, $7.9 million contract and will be heading into his final year of arbitration in 2025 before becoming a free agent in 2026. With the Giants 12 games behind the division-leading Dodgers and 5.5 games behind the Padres for the last NL Wild Card spot, things aren't looking great for the club this year. Next year will likely be more of the same with Los Angeles and San Diego maintaining their core, making it difficult for San Francisco to build meaningful championship equity in the short term.

This makes Yaz more valuable as a trade asset than as a name on the active roster. What would the Giants like in return? They'd probably like a starting pitcher. With Blake Snell a crushing disappointment who isn't even signed to a long-term deal, San Francisco will need to give their team ace Logan Webb more of a supporting cast if they'd like to compete with the rest of the the NL West.

Luckily, Seattle has plenty of arms including Emerson Hancock and Jhonathan Díaz, both of whom already have experience pitching at the big league level. Other top prospects include Michael Morales and Brandyn Garcia, both of whom are currently in Double-A but could turn out to be solid starters in a few years.

Yastrzemski probably isn't worth giving up the future, but he could be a big value add in the present. With Seattle this close to reaching October baseball once again, he might be the missing piece the team needs to make it across the finish line.