San Francisco Giants Center Field Trade Options: Ozuna and Yelich

The San Francisco Giants need to upgrade the play in center field, and the Miami Marlins give them some options: Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich

Upgrading center field has been pinpointed as a priority for the San Francisco Giants after getting awful defense from the position all season in 2017. The trade market is their likely opportunity to make that upgrade, and there are quite a few options. Two of them are currently playing for the Miami Marlins.

Right fielder Giancarlo Stanton has been the topic of the trade market for months now, and with new ownership on board in Miami, the team is likely looking to shed some payroll. After a monster season during which he hit 59 home runs, Stanton is going to get some attention all winter, including from the Giants. But he doesn’t fit in the team’s pursuit to get better in the middle of the outfield.

The Marlins do, however, have two other starting outfielders that could fill the Giants’ need. Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich have both played center field for the Marlins in recent years, and if the Marlins are serious about another rebuild, both would be prime trade candidates. Ozuna turns 27 in November, and Yelich turns 26 in December.

Ozuna had previously been a solid hitter that turned in strong years, but 2017 was by far his best year as a major leaguer yet. In 2014, he hit .269/.317/.455 with 26 doubles and 23 home runs , and in 2016 he hit .266/.321/.452 with 23 doubles, 23 home runs, and six triples. 2015 was the tale of two seasons, and he was demoted back to Triple-A after starting the years hitting .249/.301/.377 with four home runs in 79 games. After coming back, he hit .278/.320/.469 with six home runs in 44 games.

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2017 was his second straight All-Star season, and he turned in one of the best seasons by a National League hitter. He set career-highs with 30 doubles, 37 home runs, 124 RBI (third in MLB), 142 wRC+, and in all three triple-slash categories at .312/.376/.548.

While Ozuna has been more of a power hitter that broke out entirely in 2017, Yelich has been a better pure hitter since coming to the big leagues. Over his five seasons, Yelich owns a career .290/.369/.432 slash-line, a 121 wRC+, and has hit 30 or more doubles in four straight seasons. He has a strong career 10.7 percent walk-rate, and doesn’t strike out at an exorbitant rate (20.5 percent).

The power has come on for Yelich in the past two seasons. After hitting 20 home runs combined in his first three years, he hit 21 in 2016 and 18 in 2017.

Defensively, Ozuna came up as a center fielder while Yelich was a left fielder to start his career. In 2014, Ozuna had a positive year in the middle of the outfield (eight defensive runs saved, 0.8 UZR/150), but struggled mightily to cover the ground in 2015 and 2016. Between the two years, Ozuna totaled -15 DRS and -3 UZR/150. Those numbers are not impressive, but would still be a major upgrade over incumbent Denard Span (-27 DRS and -8.7 UZR/150 in 2017 alone).

Ozuna moved to left field in 2017, and the numbers were much better. He saved 11 defensive runs, though the UZR/150 was a bit pedestrian at 2.9 (ranked 10th out of 23 left fielders with at least 500 innings). He also came through with 10 assists from left field, tied for third among big leaguers.

Yelich won a Gold Glove in 2014 as the Marlins’ left fielder, his first full big league season. In four seasons and over 3,500 innings as a left fielder, Yelich totaled 32 DRS and a 4.4 UZR/150. When Ozuna moved to center field in 2017, Yelich took over in center field and the numbers weren’t quite as good (-6 DRS and -0.7 UZR/150). His main weakness is his arm, which is considered one of the weakest outfield arms in the big leagues.

Yelich is the prototypical “AT&T Park hitter”, a player who can consistently hit line drives and can use the entire field. He evenly spreads his hits across the outfield, as evidenced by his hit distribution. In 2017, 32.2 percent of his hits went to the pull side, 38.2 percent to center field, and 29.6 percent to the opposite field. His 62 opposite field hits were fourth in the NL, while his .463 batting average the other way was second.

Ozuna, on the other hand, is a bigger power bat, which doesn’t always play well at the Giants’ home park. It’s less of a problem for right-handed hitters, and Ozuna has always had success at AT&T Park in his limited chances to play there. In 17 games, he owns a .306/.368/.548 slash-line with four doubles and three home runs.

If the Giants were to acquire either player, they would have control of them for the foreseeable future. Yelich signed a long-term extension in 2015, and there are still four guaranteed years left on the deal with a team option for a fifth season. Yelich will make $7 million in 2018, $9.75 million in 2019, $12.5 million in 2020, and $14 million in 2021. The team option in 2022 is worth $15 million, and there is a buyout worth $1.25 million.

Ozuna is arbitration eligible for the 2018 season and one season after that, and following his huge offensive performance in 2017, Ozuna is on par to make a lot of money this offseason. MLB Trade Rumors’ arbitration projections has Ozuna making $10.9 million this year in the arbitration process.

Next: Giants CF Trade Options: Michael A. Taylor

While the Giants may not get the all-world defensive player in center field that they are looking for, both players would provide an instant upgrade to the offense. If the offense gets better, they could live with a little bit of deficiency on the defensive side (although both would be major upgrades defensively over Span).

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