On Thursday July 31, 2025, the San Francisco Giants traded OF Mike Yastrzemski to the Kansas City Royals for Low-A RHP Yunior Marte.Â
The trade was the final of three Giants deadline deals, all of which saw established players such as Yastrzemski, Camilo Doval, and Tyler Rogers shipped out of San Francisco for prospects.Â
The Giants, sitting below .500 at the end of July, seem to be prioritizing their future over competing for a playoff spot in 2025. They currently sit 6 games out of the final National League Wild Card spot.Â
Marte, 21, has been pitching for the Low-A Columbia Fireflies this season.Â
Yastrzemski Is A Giants Legend
The numbers are not eye popping. But Mike Yastrzemski deserves his flowers for a remarkable career with the Giants.Â
Back in May, The Athletic named Yaz the best right fielder of the 2000s for the Giants. With fan-favorite names like Hunter Pence having occupied that spot, it was a bit of a surprise for fans to see Yaz on the All-Quarter Century team.Â
Yaz has simply been better for longer than Pence, or anyone else who has played right field for the Giants since 2000. And he did it all after turning 28 and being counted out by the Baltimore Orioles.Â
He ends his Giants career with lots of legendary clutch home runs, amazing catches in the craziness that is Oracle Parkâs right field, and San Francisco Giants fans he impacted.Â
Giants fans should be rooting for him wherever he goes.Â
Yunior Marte ProfileÂ
Marte is an interesting get for the Giants. In their other trades of Doval and Rogers, they prioritized getting MLB-ready talent. Marte is far from that.Â
Giants fans will be happy to know that he is having a stellar season in Low A. In 19 games (19 starts), Marte has a 2.74 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 82 innings. He has walked only 20 batters.Â
âMarte features two above-average pitches in his arsenal. The righthanderâs fastball sits comfortably between 93â97 mph with lively two-seam run. With added strength to his 6-foot-5 frame, thereâs a good chance he can regain that peak velocity. His hard slider, thrown at 84â88 mph, is a legitimate weapon, while his split-changeupâstill a work in progressâsits in the 87â88 mph range and flashes swing-and-miss potential. Mechanically, Marte does a solid job of staying in sync and repeating his delivery,â Baseball America wrote about Marte.Â
Who Replaces Yastrzemski?Â
Undoubtedly, the Giants are going to be calling up an outfielder to take Yastrzemskiâs spot on the 40-man roster and active roster.Â
That will likely be either Grant McCray or Wade Meckler, two outfielders who have had MLB stints with the Giants before.Â
McCray is the most likely option; he hit 5 home runs in 37 games with the Giants last season.Â
The Giants could also call up newly acquired prospect Drew Gilbert, but that is unlikely. Theyâll probably want to see what they have in Gilbert at AAA first.Â
Giants fans, how do you feel about the Mike Yastrzemski deal?Â
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