Royals add outfielder Yastrzemski in late Trade Deadline deal with Giants

KANSAS CITY -- Not until about an hour before Thursday’s 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline did the Royals begin to discuss the trade that would land them one final outfielder for the day.

When the deal was finished, they had about 90 seconds to spare.

But in the end, the Royals acquired Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski for Minor League right-hander Yunior Marte, the Royals’ No. 20 prospect on their Top 30 list, according to MLB Pipeline. Yastrzemski is making $9.25 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility and is a free agent at the end of the season.

“You get to that last hour and you start going through what’s still available, it was a late trade,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “... In San Francisco’s case, it seemed like they were willing to move players, so the players with expiring contracts are very likely to be moved. You just continue to stay on that path and run down the list.”

TRADE DETAILS
Giants receive: Minor League RHP Yunior Marte
Royals receive: OF Mike Yastrzemski

In search of outfield help, the Royals targeted Yastrzemski -- the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski -- because of the 34-year-old’s ability to get on base and the idea that he could platoon some with Randal Grichuk, whom the Royals acquired last week from the D-backs.

The left-handed hitting Yastrzemski is slashing .231/.330/.355 this year for the Giants, with 14 doubles, eight home runs and 28 RBIs. Across parts of seven seasons in San Francisco, Yastrzemski posted a .768 OPS with a 110 wRC+.

But against right-handed pitching, Yastrzemski has a .254/.366/.393 slash line this year and a .245/.334/.468 slash line for his career.

Grichuk has a .270/.320/.507 slash line in his career against lefties.

Both are primarily right fielders.

“[Yastrzemski] handles right-handed pitching extremely well,” Picollo said. “He’s going to complement Randal extremely well. Between the two of them, you have a very capable -- I don’t want to call it a true platoon, but you have what appears to be a true platoon, and I don’t think it’ll be exclusive to just righties and lefties [where] one will play and one won’t play. But it does fit very nicely and it rounds out our lineup and bench, things we like to do from a strategic standpoint extremely well.”

The Royals wanted to find ways to improve their league-worst outfield, and Yastrzemski offers a league-average bat while bringing solid defense to the corner outfield. Whose place he takes on the 26-man roster remains to be seen -- all corresponding moves will be made on Friday in Toronto -- and later this season, the Royals will have some maneuvering to do if they still see Jac Caglianone as their main right fielder when he recovers from his left hamstring strain. But Picollo said that was something they would figure out when they get to that point; Caglianone still needs more time on the IL.

While Picollo found ways on Thursday to improve the team now and in the future -- particularly by acquiring three young, controllable starting pitchers in two separate deals -- the effort on the offensive side was more focused on improving the edges of the roster, bringing in veterans who fill specific needs and can help the Royals win in different ways. Yastrzemski and Grichuk offer better options against right- and left-handed pitching. Adam Frazier, acquired during the All-Star break, gives the Royals a better left-handed option off the bench and the ability to move around the field defensively.

The Royals feel they have a more complete team, with more options, with those three on it. It’s no secret this offense has struggled this year. Its 85 wRC+ is tied for third-worst in the Majors, and its .683 OPS is tied for sixth-worst.

The Royals’ offensive targets were shaped in part because of what was available from other teams this Deadline season. They had conversations about the biggest bats that were made available from selling teams, but nothing lined up or fit before Thursday.

But it also had a lot to do with the Royals’ belief in their everyday players right now. The Royals have played better lately, bringing them to just a game under .500 (53-54) and just three games out of an American League Wild Card spot. Yastrzemski helps elevate the floor of the hitting group.

“We believe in our team,” Picollo said. “They haven’t given us any reason to ever say it’s time to sell, if for no other reason than we’re still a fairly young team with a young core together, and trying to build that culture and winning is extremely important to us.”