Mike Yastrzemski, now a Braves outfielder after being traded from the Giants, says he still keeps close tabs on San Francisco—especially Jung Hoo Lee—and that the hardest-to-recreate piece of Giants baseball is the challenge of playing right field at Oracle Pa
On a Tuesday night at Truist Park, the cage and dugout looked like a reunion waiting to happen—Braves players in blue swapping stories with former Giants, and Giants staff members catching up with people they used to work alongside in San Francisco.
Former infielders Dominic Smith and Mauricio Dubón took batting practice together in Braves blue. Giants infield coach Ron Washington, who coached with Atlanta from 2017 to 2023, moved through conversations as if time had stood still. And Mike Yastrzemski stayed close to his past, chatting with former teammates and coaches between swings.
It wasn’t just nostalgia. Yastrzemski is only partway into a new chapter after the Giants traded him to the Kansas City Royals at the deadline less than a year ago, and he later signed with the Braves. He framed San Francisco as something he can’t switch off.
“That city and team will always have a place in my heart,” Yastrzemski said Tuesday. “First place I ever played in the big leagues. I’m always keeping tabs. checking in on how guys are doing and staff is doing. whether it’s text. calls. reading up on it. It’s something I’m never going to lose, no matter what.”.
One friend he checks in on often is Jung Hoo Lee. The two were close during the two seasons they overlapped with the Giants. bonding while adapting to a new life in the United States. Yastrzemski said he texted Lee after the move Lee made this year. from center field to right field. and that their messages often turned into longer catch-ups.
“I got to see him earlier, it was great,” Yastrzemski said. “I gave him a big hug.”
What Yastrzemski misses most, though, isn’t a matchup or a highlight reel. It’s a job—right field at Oracle Park.
“Playing right field is one of the many things Yastrzemski misses about San Francisco. ” he said. describing a challenge he once took personally. He said he “genuinely miss[es] the challenge of playing right field. ” calling out the pride he took in working through Oracle’s details and how the ball can behave depending on how the wind catches.
“I took a lot of pride in playing right field out there and having so much fun trying to figure out every nook and cranny and why each flag was blowing in a different direction even though they’re right next to each other,” Yastrzemski said.
San Francisco’s quirks aren’t new to him. Over seven years, Yastrzemski built favorite moments that still stick—most notably the Giants’ 107-win 2021 season and his walk-off Splash Hit last April.
Last deadline, the Giants traded him as part of a partial sell-off while the team spiraled. The return was a pitching prospect, Yunior Marte, from the Royals. In Kansas City, Yastrzemski adjusted his timing and produced 9 home runs with 18 RBIs in 50 games, which helped set him up for free agency.
The Braves then locked him in with a two-year, $23 million contract. He found the distance from San Francisco easier than the transition might suggest—he’s in Atlanta now, a four-hour drive from his wife and two kids in Tennessee.
His first Braves season hasn’t sparked the kind of headlines he used to generate with the Giants. He entered Tuesday batting .232 with a .665 OPS in 65 games.
The Braves-Giants crossover runs deeper than players, too. Giants bullpen coach Jesse Chavez spent six of his 18 major-league seasons in Atlanta. Former Giants pitching coach JP Martinez is now the Braves’ bullpen coach; Atlanta’s bullpen entered Tuesday with a 2.82 ERA. described as baseball’s best. And former infield coach Antoan Richardson is Atlanta’s first base coach.
Front-office connections continue the theme. Pete Putilia, the Giants’ general manager under Farhan Zaidi, is the Braves’ assistant general manager in international scouting. Former senior director of baseball analytics Michael Schwartze is the Braves’ assistant general manager in player personnel.
The night also carried injury updates from manager Tony Vitello. Outfielder Heliot Ramos. out since May 16 with a quad strain. is scheduled to start his rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday. and will need a “handful of starts” before he returns. Right-hander Tyler Mahle. dealing with a hamstring strain. threw 63 pitches in a rehab start on Tuesday with Triple-A Sacramento; he allowed one run. one hit and five walks with three strikeouts in three innings.
Mike Yastrzemski San Francisco Giants Atlanta Braves Jung Hoo Lee Oracle Park Truist Park MLB trade right field defense