Report: Three Giants hitters could be available at MLB trade deadline Originally appeared in NBC Bay Area Sports
The Giants have not publicly stated whether they will be buyers or sellers in the coming days leading up to the MLB trade deadline on July 30 at 3 p.m. PT, but if they decide to go the latter route, the front office will have some attractive players to deal with.
Gardeners Miguel Conforto and Mike Yastrzemskiand first base/designated hitter Wilmer Flores “at least to some extent they are available,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Thursday, citing industry sources briefed on the trade discussions.
The Giants, 49-54 heading into Thursday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers, sit 4 1/2 games out of the final NL wild-card spot.
President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi took the biggest gamble this past offseason, signing Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Jung-Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler and Jordan Hicks in free agency while acquiring former Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray in a shop.
But the Giants have underperformed, with Zaidi even calling first place “the best.” Half of the season was a “disappointment.”
Conforto, Yastrzemski or Flores could be valuable pieces for contending MLB teams if the Giants decide to move any of them.
Conforto will be a free agent this winter after signing a two-year, $36 million contract with the Giants ahead of the 2023 MLB season. He is hitting .224/.296/.410 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs and 39 RBIs this season.
Flores, a fan favorite and a strong presence in the locker room, has a $3.5 million player option for 2025while the Giants have an $8.5 million team option. But he is having the least productive season of his five years in San Francisco, hitting just .206/.277/.318 with 12 doubles and four homers in 71 games.
Yastrzemski, who is Earning $7.9 million this seasonhas one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining. The 33-year-old is hitting .244/.321/.433 with nine doubles, eight homers and 33 RBIs in 84 games this season.
The Giants still have a few days to decide what direction they want to take, but if Zaidi decides it’s time to look toward the future, several of his veteran players could be attractive to other teams.
