Bobby Evans has already delivered a trade for Evan Longoria, and if the Giants hope to make a push to contend in 2018, Evans knows his work is far from over.
On Tuesday afternoon, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that San Francisco and Cincinnati are continuing trade talks centered around outfielder Billy Hamilton, who would represent a massive defensive upgrade for the Giants in center field.
Sources: #SFGiants, #Reds trade talks on Billy Hamilton remained ongoing as of today. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 26, 2017
Hamilton is one of the fastest players in all of baseball and has stolen at least 56 bases in each of the last four seasons, but his career on-base percentage rests just below .300 and he hasn’t proven he can hit for average consistently. Nevertheless, Hamilton has the type of base running and defensive skills that would help the Giants cross off two key boxes on their offseason checklist, and he could be a key top of the order piece if San Francisco is able to acquire him.
Reports of the Giants’ interest in Hamilton shouldn’t come as a surprise considering San Francisco is looking to fill a void in center field after dealing Denard Span to the Rays in the Longoria trade, and Hamilton is attractive to the Giants because he’s arbitration-eligible for each of the next two seasons before becoming a free agent in 2020.
If the Giants were to acquire Hamilton, the team should have enough money left to sign a free agent power hitter who can play a corner outfield position like Jay Bruce, while keeping their payroll under the competitive balance tax threshold of $197 million next year.
Cincinnati could have a high asking price for Hamilton, and it’s unclear whether San Francisco would consider parting with top overall prospect Heliot Ramos in a deal this offseason.