The Royals have acquired outfielder Mike Yastrzemski from the Giants in a last-minute deadline swap. In exchange, the Giants will receive right-handed pitching prospect Yunior Marte. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was the first to report that Yastrzemski was headed to Kansas City. The deal is now official.
Yastrzemski, 34, has slipped to a 97 wRC+ in 372 plate appearances for the Giants this year in his seventh season with the club. From 2023-24, he’d managed a 109 mark. A left-handed hitter, Yaz has always excelled against right-handed pitching, including a 118 wRC+ this year.
Yastrzemski, who has primarily played right field in the Majors, joins a 54-55 Royals team that nonetheless sits three games back in the Wild Card race. He’s a perfect pairing with the newly-acquired Randal Grichuk, a right-handed hitter. Rookie Jac Caglianone, who had spent time in right field, is on the IL with a hamstring strain. Yastrzemski, famously the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl, will be eligible for free agency after the season.
As Justice delos Santos of the San Jose Mercury News notes, “With Yastrzemski gone, the door is open for Luis Matos to step into a starting role [for the Giants]. It’s very possible Grant McCray and Marco Luciano see some time in right field as well.”
In parting with their longtime right fielder for the next few months, the Giants add Marte. The 21-year-old has spent the season in A ball, posting a 2.74 ERA and 18.4 K-BB% in 19 starts. Baseball America assigned him a 50 high risk grade, noting that he “features two above-average pitches in his arsenal.”