San Francisco Giants Seen as Possible Trade Suitor for Tampa Bay Rays Slugger

Heading into the 2025 regular season, the strength of the San Francisco Giants looks to be their pitching staff.

There is some legitimate upside with that group, headlined by their ace Logan Webb. He is one of the most reliable front end starters in the league, taking the ball every time it is his turn through the rotation and consistently being near the top of the league in innings pitched.

Behind him are two former Cy Young winners, Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander. Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp are going to fill things out behind them.

What is going to determine how much this team moves up the standings will be their offense.

The Giants made one major impact addition in free agency, signing shortstop Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million contract. It is the largest deal in franchise history but a worthwhile risk.

During his tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers, he cemented his status as one of the best power hitters at his position. Combined with third baseman Matt Chapman, San Francisco now has one of the best power hitting left sides of the infield in the game.

Unfortunately, beyond those two, the Giants don’t have any established impact performers in the lineup.

There is some upside with center fielder Jung Hoo Lee and catcher Patrick Bailey. Eventually, top prospect Bryce Eldridge will be taking over at first base, adding another middle-of-the-order masher to the mix.

However, he isn’t expected to break camp with the Big League team, as first base will once again be handled by veterans LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores.

It is one of the areas of the team that the front office was looking to upgrade during the offseason but was unable to find any options in free agency.

But, if San Francisco is still looking for lineup upgrades, the Tampa Bay Rays could be a match for them.

First baseman Yandy Diaz was listed as a likely trade candidate by Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report and the Giants were listed as a potential landing spot for the veteran slugger.

The Rays had a fire sale ahead of the trade deadline last July and it is a bit of a surprise that Diaz remains with the team at this point. 

Alas, given how difficult of a road they are facing to the postseason in the American League, things could quickly change. The AL East is going to be a gauntlet for any team to get through with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays all being legitimate playoff and World Series contenders.

Diaz is a professional hitter with a .288 career batting average. He offers a little bit of pop with a 162-game average of 16 home runs and 33 doubles.

That is the exact kind of production that the Giants could use more of, especially in the back half of their lineup. He would provide insurance at first base and designated hitter along with being an emergency option at third base behind Chapman.

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