With Giancarlo Stanton officially a member of the New York Yankees as of Monday, it’s time for the Giants to commence their Plan B on acquiring outfield talent. With no real starter in left field and two aging starters in center and right, an outfield overhaul, or something close to it, is likely required for San Francisco to be competitive in 2018. Names of possible targets are already popping up, including two yesterday per reports via Joe Frisaro of MLB.com and Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.
The market for @Marlins Marcell Ozuna is starting to build. I’m hearing 6-8 clubs have some level of interest in the All-Star outfielder. The #Nationals #STLCards and #SFGiants are among teams interested.
— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) December 11, 2017
Carlos Gonzalez is flying under the radar, but a lot of teams are interested because he’s likely to sign a short-term deal to re-establish his value. #SFGiants, #Royals, #Athletics, #Rays and #BlueJays are among the teams believed to be keeping an eye on him.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 12, 2017
Gonzalez, 32, has spent the last nine years in Colorado, and is a player the Giants know all too well. After making the All-Star team in 2016, Cargo had a down year for his standards in 2017, posting a line of .262/.339/.423, while hitting just 14 home runs. Throughout his 10-year career, Gonzalez has been named to the All-Star team three times, won three Gold Gloves, and two Silver Sluggers. Gonzalez is an unrestricted free agent, and Spotrac estimates his market value at $15.2 million per year.
All things being equal, the Gaints would probably prefer to land Ozuna, 27, who is both five years younger than Gonzalez, and coming off the best season of his young career, posting a line of .312/.376/.548 while making the All-Star team and winning both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. Ozuna is one of the most complete outfielders in the game right now, and could likely play at any three outfield positions at AT&T Park. He’s an obvious target for San Francisco, but is currently under contract with the Marlins through 2019. It will be interesting to see if the Stanton saga has soured the Giants front office on doing business with Miami.