As one might expect, the San Francisco Giants went through a lot of outfielders in 2025, including Mike Yastrzemski, who was traded in July.
But the long-time Giant could still be considered an everyday player for the team, as far as baseball-reference.com is concerned. Looking at its 2025 stats log, Yaz is considered the starting right fielder, as he played in 96 games. He joins Jung Hoo Lee as the everyday center fielder and Heloit Ramos as the everyday left fielder.
Yaz played the most games in right field (94), but seven other players logged a single game, with Luis Matos (33) and rookie Drew Gilbert (30) logging 30 or more games. Lee, who was healthy all season, played in 147 games in center and no other played logged more than eight games at the position. Ramos was a workhorse, as he played 154 games in left field. Two others logged at least 10 games in Luis Matos and Grant McCray.
When assessing the Giants’ outfield for 2025, it’s useful to use Yaz, Lee and Ramos as the starters with Matos included for position flex and Gilbert included as the potential starting right fielder in 2026.
Here is how the three established starters hit in 2025:
Ramos: .256/.328/.400 slash with a .728 OPS, 21 home runs, 69 RBI.
Lee: .266/.327/.407 with a .735 OPS, 8 home runs, 55 RBI.
Yastrzemski: .231/.330/.355 with a .685 OPS, 8 home runs, 28 RBI.
Ramos remained a steady run producer at a premium position. He was one of four Giants to hit at least 20 home runs in 2025, joining Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Wilmer Flores and Rafael Devers. Lee is not going to bring the power, but he’s a quality table-setter and was among the top run-scorers on the team. Yastrzemski had the second-fewest RBI or any everyday Giants player and his trade in July opened the door for Matos and later Gilbert to get playing time in right field.
Yaz (.994) and Lee (.991) were not problematic defensively. Ramos (.970) was charged with nine errors, a troubling amount for a left fielder. His Baseball Savant page reveals a player among the worst in baseball in OAA (minus-9, third percentile) and arm value (minus-3, fifth percentile). He’s locked into a corner outfield spot at this point in his career and right field might be a better option down the line.
As for Matos and Gilbert:
Matos: .221/.266/.424 with a .691 OPS, 8 home runs, 28 RBI.
Gilbert: .190/.248/.350 with a .598 OPS, 3 home runs, 13 RBI.
Matos posted those power numbers in 57 games. Gilbert posted his in 39 games. Matos works as a fourth outfielder but not a regular starter. Fortunately, he can play every outfield position. Gilbert has hit double-digit home runs in three of his four minor league seasons and that, along with his defense, puts him in position to be the natural replacement for Yaz in 2026.
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