Yaz back in fold as the dean of Giants outfielders

This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado¡¯s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Mike Yastrzemski is the Giants¡¯ longest-tenured player, but he¡¯s never allowed himself to get comfortable in the big leagues.

That mindset is understandable for a 14th-round Draft pick who spent six seasons grinding through the Minors before finally getting a chance to break in as a 28-year-old rookie.

¡°I think that¡¯s just been ingrained in me since high school and college,¡± Yastrzemski said. ¡°It was never your job. I never felt like I owned a position. I felt like I was renting it. I feel that way after every year.¡±

It¡¯s been six years since the Giants acquired Yastrzemski from the Orioles in exchange for Minor League right-hander Tyler Herb, a deal that will go down as one of the shrewdest moves of the Farhan Zaidi era. Yastrzemski developed into a fixture in the Giants¡¯ outfield after debuting in San Francisco in 2019, establishing himself as a Gold Glove-caliber defender in right field while also supplying solid production at the plate.

But heading into the offseason, there was some question about whether Yastrzemski would be back for a seventh season with the Giants. The 34-year-old veteran was entering his final year of arbitration and due a raise from the $7.9 million he earned in 2024. The Giants already had a deep crop of young outfielders on the rise -- including Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee, Marco Luciano, Luis Matos and Grant McCray -- making Yastrzemski¡¯s return far from guaranteed.

The decision became even more interesting after one of Yastrzemski¡¯s former teammates -- Buster Posey -- replaced Zaidi as the Giants¡¯ president of baseball operations in October. Yastrzemski said he didn¡¯t have much direct dialogue with his new boss leading up to the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players, though Posey ultimately recognized Yastrzemski¡¯s value by signing him to a one-year, $9.25 million contract in November.

¡°I tried to stay out of it because I don¡¯t ever want to really find myself or put Buster in a situation to do anything like that,¡± Yastrzemski said. ¡°At the end of the day, he has to make the best business decision for this organization, and I respect that. I¡¯ll never try and lean on one side of that [relationship] to get what I want. I¡¯ve tried to show that from day one, that this organization has always come before myself. I try and play that way. I try and act accordingly and kind of walk the walk instead of talk the talk.

¡°But once it was done, I had a nice chance to get on the phone with him and catch up personally and then to be able to catch up with what¡¯s going on over here. It was nice that we have a relationship to balance.¡±

Now that he¡¯s back in the fold, Yastrzemski is expected to reprise his role as the Giants¡¯ primary right fielder and bring some much-needed veteran stability to an outfield group that¡¯s brimming with youth. Ramos, 25, will be looking to build on his All-Star campaign last year, and Lee, 26, could be a breakout candidate now that he¡¯s fully recovered from left shoulder surgery. Luciano (23), Matos (23) and McCray (24) also have the potential to take steps forward and contribute to the mix this year.

Yastrzemski is doing his part to shepherd the unit along, leading his fellow outfielders in drills and reminding them that working on footwork on pivots or hitting the cutoff man are the type of small details that can pay dividends during the regular season.

¡°Just keeping a little bit of continual focus on things that can feel monotonous, especially in spring,¡± Yastrzemski said. ¡°But I¡¯m excited about this group. I think we¡¯ve got a lot of talent and these guys are doing great. They show up every day ready to work. It¡¯s inspiring for me. It makes me work a little harder, too.¡±

¡°Yaz is all about it,¡± manager Bob Melvin said. ¡°He¡¯s one of our longer-tenured guys here. He takes pride in being a Giant. He knows that these younger guys are not only part of our future, but part of our now. He¡¯s just trying to make it easier for them and make us a better team.¡±

Yastrzemski got off to a slow start at the plate last year and finished May with a .667 OPS, but he picked it up from there and wound up posting a .739 OPS with 18 home runs over 140 games in 2024. One of his aims will be to avoid having extended slumps this year, especially since he¡¯ll be eligible for free agency at the end of the season.

¡°I definitely want to be a little more consistent at the plate,¡± Yastrzemski said. ¡°I felt that I teetered on this line of taking off and coming back to scuffling. I want to have this consistent feeling of, ¡®I¡¯m in control of everything I can control,¡¯ and let the rest happen.¡±