Three Giants takeaways: Austin Slater traded to Reds for lefty reliever

The San Francisco Giants cut ties with their longest-tenured player Sunday night, trading outfielder Austin Slater and cash to the Cincinnati Reds for left-handed reliever Alex Young.

It’s a move that will be welcomed by the vocal segment of the fan base who viewed Slater as a roster impediment to younger outfielders like Luis Matos and Tyler Fitzgerald. It also brings an end to a long-standing platoon between Slater and Mike Yastrzemski, the latter of whom now inherits the title of the Giants’ longest-tenured player. Yastrzemski debuted in May of 2019; right-handers Logan Webb and Tyler Rogers debuted in August of that season.

Slater, 31, built a stable niche as a pinch hitter and reliable producer against left-handed pitching (.805 OPS, 24 home runs in 755 at-bats), but the injuries piled up over the past two years and he never found a groove at the plate this season. The Stanford alum, an eighth-round pick in 2014 who debuted three years later, was batting .200/.330/.244 with one home run in 90 at-bats over 43 games this season. He struck out as a pinch hitter in the Giants’ 5-4 loss at Cleveland on Sunday afternoon.

Young, 30, is someone the Giants already gave away once. He posted a 2.39 ERA in 24 appearances for the Giants in 2022 but was not tendered a contract after the season and became a free agent. Young battled lower-back issues with the Reds and hasn’t pitched in the big leagues in more than a month but was sporting a 1.19 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings for Triple-A Louisville.

Young will report to Triple-A Sacramento, the Giants said.

Here are three takeaways from the trade, which might have been surprising only in its timing:

We’ve seen this trade before

It’s not out of character for Giants president Farhan Zaidi to start a season with veteran depth on the position-player side and then shed that depth once it’s served its purpose. He did it in his first season with the franchise in 2019 when he signed Yangervis Solarte and Gerardo Parra to disposable contracts, ensuring that the lineup would have a minimum amount of depth and structure as Zaidi cycled through the back half of the roster and looked for players both within and outside the system who could stick if given the opportunity.

When the Giants decided they no longer needed the extra set of training wheels, they cut Solarte and Parra and moved ahead with players like Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson.

The difference this time is that Zaidi didn’t have to reach outside the organization to find someone who could help bridge the gap to young outfielders like Matos and Heliot Ramos. Slater fit the bill well enough. And he’d already demonstrated familiarity and acceptance with playing on the lean end of a platoon.

Now Ramos is an All-Star, Matos has gotten a bit more seasoning, and Fitzgerald offers more positional flexibility along with the kind of athleticism that this team sorely needs. David Villar is having a good season at Sacramento and took solid plate appearances while hitting .294 with a homer in six games, too. And although they might quietly wish they had a do-over on Tom Murphy’s two-year, $8.25 million contract, the backup catcher will be healthy at some point, and if nothing else, can fill a role as a right-handed pinch hitter. All of those factors probably compelled Zaidi that it was time to turn the page on Slater.

And if Brett Wisely becomes someone the Giants cannot take out of their lineup, then shortstop Nick Ahmed could be the next veteran player who will reach the end of his usefulness.

Giants have gotten better as they’ve gotten younger (and healthier)

It’s probably not a coincidence that the Giants started turning over the lineup more dependably and scoring more runs while giving an expanded role to younger players like Ramos and Wisely.

The Giants are getting a .744 OPS from players 25 and under, a .707 OPS from players age 26-30, and a .680 OPS from players aged 31-35. They’ve looked younger and fresher since placing second baseman Thairo Estrada and first baseman Wilmer Flores on the IL. Both had appeared in desperate need of a break.

It’s a trend line that must continue. The Giants rank dead last among MLB teams with 30 stolen bases, and at this point, it’ll be a surprise if they don’t finish 30th out of 30 for the second consecutive season.

With only four full-time outfielders plus DH Jorge Soler on the 40-man roster, it might not be out of the realm of possibility that speedster Grant McCray, who is off to a hot start in 20 games following his promotion to Sacramento, could make his debut at some point soon. (McCray would have to be added to the 40-man roster after the season anyway or potentially be lost in the Rule 5 draft.)

Hunting for leftovers

Rogers leads the major leagues with 46 appearances and fellow Giants right-hander Ryan Walker is on his heels with 45, but it’s left-hander Erik Miller’s workload that most concerns manager Bob Melvin and the coaching staff.

Miller has been excellent as a rookie while holding left-handers to a .115 average and serving as a prime lefty setup reliever and occasional opener. He’s also thrown more than 40 innings and is creeping up on the career-high 62 1/2 innings he logged at Triple-A Sacramento last year. There’s a reason the Giants were able to get Miller for reliever Yunior Marte in a trade from Philadelphia, where he was once a top prospect. It’s the same reason Miller appeared in the Futures Game one year and then went unprotected and unclaimed in the Rule 5 draft the next year. He’s battled an assortment of injuries. He has dealt with a calf issue this season, too.

Alex Young was formerly with the Giants, posting a 2.39 ERA in 24 appearances in 2022. (Kareem Elgazzar / USA Today)

Young is the second lefty the Giants have acquired in the last week. They also claimed lefty reliever Kolton Ingram off waivers from St. Louis, optioned him to Double-A Richmond and then called him up Saturday.

There’s no guarantee that Ingram or Young will be in the organization for long. The Giants will need to create 40-man vacancies when Robbie Ray and, presumably, Alex Cobb are activated from the 60-day injured list following the All-Star break. Pitchers Tristan Beck, Ethan Small and Austin Warren are others on the 60-day IL who might contribute in the second half.

Moving Slater off the 40-man was a precursor to making some of those roster decisions a bit easier in the coming weeks. In the meantime, it gives the Giants a bit more coverage from the left side of the bullpen, which is not the worst thing in the world.

(Top photo: John Hefti / USA Today)