San Francisco Giants Still in Talks With Reds Regarding Center Fielder Billy Hamilton
The San Francisco Giants managed to fill the hole at third base last week by acquiring three-time All-Star Evan Longoria from the Tampa Bay Rays. Now the next order of business is to acquire a center fielder and the Cincinnati Reds' Billy Hamilton happens to be on their radar throughout the offseason.
According to MLB Network's Jon Morosi, talks are still ongoing between the Giants and Reds.
"After the trade of Denard Span to the Rays, the Giants do not have an outfielder on their 40-man roster who was a league-average (or better) offensive player in 2017, as determined by adjusted OPS," Morosi said in his report.
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"For the record, Hamilton wasn't, either. His .634 OPS in 2017 was the second lowest of the four Major League seasons in which he has played at least 100 games. But Evans has spoken of prioritizing elite defense in center field, given AT&T Park's unique dimensions, and Hamilton would provide that," he continued.
As mentioned by Morosi, Hamilton doesn't come without flaws. He just doesn't offer much on offense. In 139 games last season, Hamilton posted a 0.247/0.299/0.335 slash line to go along with four home runs, 38 runs batted in and 17 doubles in 633 plate appearance.
However, his defense is simply top notched.
Hamilton can give the Giants' outfield defense a significant boost, but the club may have to give up one of their top prospects to get him. In his report, Morosi mentioned that the Reds are interested in outfield prospect Heliot Ramos.
It will be interesting to see if the Giants are willing to part ways with Ramos to get Hamilton. A lot of observers don't think that's going to happen, though, so the Reds may have to settle for someone else.
In any case, the two clubs still have a lot of time to work out a deal.
