San Francisco Giants Perfect Target is Former Rookie of the Year Winner

The San Francisco Giants could find value in adding the former AL Rookie of the Year from the Tampa Bay Rays at the MLB trade deadline.

Jun 28, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena (56) celebrates after scoring a run against the Washington Nationals in the third inning at Tropicana Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants are expected to be buyers at the MLB trade deadline rather than selling players off, so where should they look?

Adding another outfield bat is one of their biggest needs and there is speculation that the Tampa Bay Rays could move on from their former Rookie of the Year winner.

Tampa Bay outfielder Randy Arozarena is having a down year, but could still be intriguing for a team hoping to play in the postseason.

Arozarena burst onto the baseball scene quickly, winning the Rookie of the Year award in his first full season. His slashing line that season was at .274/.356/.459. While that was promising, he hasn't been able to fully replicate it since.

He did make an All-Star team a year ago, slashing .254/.364/.425 and hitting a career-high 23 home runs.

The 29-year-old got off to a horrid start to the year which has put a huge dent in his trade value, but his recent play could make a team more okay with taking a chance on him.

Over the month of June, he looked a lot closer to his normal self. He slashed .291/.424/.468, giving hope that he has turned a new leaf.

His play during the regular season aside, the Cuba native is known as a postseason player which is a big reason that a contender would look to trade for him. He has a career slashing line of .333/.414/.690 in those games.

The current San Francisco outfield is comprised of Michael Conforto, Heliot Ramos and Mike Yastrzemski. They also have Luis Matos and Austin Slater providing depth off the bench.

Conforto has struggled mightily over the past month, slashing just .143/.218/.300 in the month of June. He could be a trade candidate even if they don't replace him with another player as he's on an expiring contract.

Yastrzemski has had some luck in terms of slugging this season, but is getting on base at the worst clip of his career. He could be fine as a worst-case scenario but getting someone in above him in the lineup could be ideal.

Ramos and Matos are the two that the Giants can be happy with in their current roles.

Not only would Arozarena be an attractive player for the second half of the season, assuming he has indeed turned things around, but he's under team control through the end of the 2026 season. He's a bit older than someone that normally has that much arbitration left, as he will be 31 when he becomes a free agent, but that shouldn't keep San Francisco from looking into the deal.