SF adds outfield depth with Pollock
The Giants are closing in on a deal with the Seattle Mariners that would add veteran AJ Pollock to San Francisco’s outfield and DH mix, the team confirmed on Monday afternoon.
The deal also includes minor league utilityman Mark Mathias, a Bay Area native, coming to the Giants’ system. News that the trade was nearly finalized was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
It isn’t immediately clear what the Giants are sending to the Mariners, but Seattle isn’t expected to receive a significant return. (According to MLB.com’s Dean Kramer, the Giants will send a player to be named later to Seattle to complete the deal.) The Mariners entered the season as a trendy pick to win the AL West, but they appear to be in sell mode after also trading closer Paul Sewald to the Diamondbacks earlier
Monday.
The Giants entered Monday night’s game against Arizona with a 58-48 record. They trail the Dodgers by two games in the NL West and are the current leaders for one of the three wildcard spots in the playoffs, although only six games separate seven teams in a still wide-open wild-card race.
The MLB trade deadline is Tuesday.
Pollock, 35, is a former AllStar and could potentially provide a much-needed right-handed power presence to the Giants lineup. But his most recent productive season was in 2021 with the Dodgers, when he hit 21 home runs with a slash line of .297/.355/.892. He does give the team immediate depth behind Michael Conforto, Austin Slater and Luis Matos. Mitch Haniger has been out since mid-June, and Mike Yastrzemsk was placed on the 10-day IL with a sore hamstring when the deal with the Mariners was announced by the Giants.
The Mariners signed Pollock to a $7 million, oneyear deal this winter that also included an additional $3 million in incentives, in hopes the right-handed swinger could provide Seattle more power against lefties. But Pollock is batted .173 with five home runs in 127 at-bas with the Mariners. He’s also struggled to stay active because of nagging injuries.
Pollock is on the IL because of a hamstring injury, but reportedly has been taking batting practice. He is eligible to be activated on Tuesday.
The Giants are very familiar with Pollock, who played his first seven seasons with the Diamondbacks and spent three seasons with the Dodgers before playing with the White Sox last season. They also might think Pollock figured something out before he got hurt. Pollock only in six games in July, but went 5-for-17 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and scored two runs.