San Francisco Giants Center Field Trade Options: Albert Almora, Jr.

After a rumor that the San Francisco Giants were looking at a Chicago Cubs’ outfielder popped up, maybe there is a Cubs’ outfielder that can help the team.

The MLB offseason is officially underway, which means that, over the next few months, there will be plenty of terrible rumors that make fans scratch their heads. The San Francisco Giants have already been apart of one of those rumors, with the team reportedly interested in acquiring Chicago Cubs’ right fielder Jason Heyward in exchange for Jeff Samardzija and/or Mark Melancon (those rumors were quickly debunked).

Heyward is a great defensive right fielder, but his bat has not lived up to his huge eight-year, $184 million contract. The Giants haven’t said they are in the market for an overpaid right fielder, but they are looking to improve in the middle of the outfield. With that in mind, there is a Cubs’ outfielder who could help them: Albert Almora.

Almora was a bit of a victim to the Cubs’ absolute embarrassment of riches in terms of young, quality depth. He is a former sixth-overall draft pick and has frequently found his name listed among baseball’s top-100 prospects, but didn’t get a ton of playing time with Chicago in 2017. As a 23-year-old second-year player, Almora played 132 games, but only started 65 times and took 323 plate appearances.

When he did play, he put together a solid season at the plate. He hit .298/.338/.445 with 18 doubles, eight home runs, 46 RBI, and a 103 wRC+. The right-handed hitter was a killer against left-handed pitchers, with a .342/.411/.486 slash-line, a 137 wRC+, and four home runs in 125 plate appearances (one of those home runs came off Madison Bumgarner on August 9th).

Almora has never been much of a power hitter. He has never crossed the 10-home run mark over a full season at any level in the Cubs’ organization, with the nine he hit between High-A and Double-A in 2014 marking his single-season best. He does have some gap power, though, hitting 27 doubles in 2014 and 26 doubles in 2015.

Defensively, Almora was rather middle of the road in 643 innings in center field in 2017. His -1 defensive runs saved and 2.3 UZR/150 ranked 16th and 14th, respectively, among the 29 players who accumulated at least 600 innings in center field. However, both numbers would represent massive upgrades over incumbent center fielder Denard Span (last in DRS and 25th in UZR/150).

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Speed isn’t a huge part of Almora’s game. He stole one base in 2017, and has stolen 33 bases in 405 minor league games. His sprint speed in 2017 was 27.7 feet per second, slightly above the league average of 27, so it’s not inconceivable to think that he could start to steal more bases with a bit more seasoning and experience.

The biggest thing working in Almora’s favor is his age. He’s still only 23 and won’t turn 24 until a couple weeks after opening day in 2018. He has a lot of time to learn and develop.

On the other hand, that’s also a huge factor working against any team trying to trade for him. The team with the need is trying to obtain a 23-year-old who is potentially a future star, and has at least five years of team control left before hitting free agency. Barring an extension, he’s going to make the league minimum for two years, at least, before even reaching arbitration eligibility. The price tag will not be cheap in a trade for Almora.

Next: Giants CF Trade Options: Kiermaier

If the Giants want to get younger, it will be hard to get younger than a player like Almora. He has a bright future ahead of him, and could help make the Giants’ future much brighter as well.

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