The Atlanta Braves’ Mike Yastrzemski is congratulated in the dugout after scoring on a RBI single hit by another former Giant, Mauricio Dubón, during the eighth inning of a game on May 19 against the Marlins in Miami.
Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
ATLANTA — The scene at Truist Park on Tuesday was full of familiar faces. Former San Francisco Giants players, front office personnel and coaches now in Atlanta mingled with former Braves who have made their way to San Francisco.
Former Giants infielders Dominic Smith and Mauricio Dubon took batting practice together in Braves blue, while Giants infield coach Ron Washington caught up with folks with the Braves, an organization he coached with in 2017-’23.
Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski was front and center during the pregame catch-ups, chatting with his former teammates and coaches between hacks in the cage.
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It hasn’t been a year since the Giants traded Yastrzemski, a fan favorite, to the Kansas City Royals at the deadline. He has found a new home in Atlanta, just a four-hour drive from his wife and two kids in Tennessee, having signed a two-year, $23 million contract to a Braves team that’s skyrocketed to one of the National League’s most fearsome.
Yastrzemski, though, keeps close tabs on the first big-league team to give him a chance seven years ago.
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“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.”
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One Giant whom Yastrzemski keeps regular contact with is Jung Hoo Lee, close friends during the two seasons they overlapped in San Francisco until Yastrzemski’s deadline trade. The two bonded in the outfield as South Korea native Lee learned to adapt to a new way of life and baseball in the United States.
Lee moved from center to right field this year and didn’t hesitate to text his old teammate about how to navigate its tricky, bricky terrain at Oracle Park. Those texts often turned into catch-up sessions.
“I got to see him earlier, it was great,” Yastrzemski said. “I gave him a big hug.”
Playing right field is one of the many things Yastrzemski misses about San Francisco, oddly enough, given its challenges. He made it look easy; he was a Gold Glove finalist in 2024.
“I know it may sound crazy, but I genuinely miss the challenge of playing right field,” Yastrzemski said. “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.”
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Yastrzemski’s seven years had plenty of favorite moments, from the 107-win 2021 season to his walk-off Splash Hit last April.
The Giants traded him as part of a partial sell-off last deadline as the team spiraled, getting pitching prospect Yunior Marte from the Royals in exchange. Yastrzemski found some tweaks with his timing in Kansas City and hit nine home runs with 18 RBIs in 50 games there. It set him up nicely for his free agency, where the Braves locked him in.
Yastrzemski’s first year with the Braves has been quiet. He entered Tuesday batting .232 with a .665 OPS in 65 games.
The Braves-Giants crossover went even deeper than those named above. 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 — their bullpen’s 2.82 ERA sat as baseball’s best entering Tuesday — and former infield coach Antoan Richardson is their first base coach.
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Pete Putilia, Giants general manager under Farhan Zaidi, is Atlanta’s assistant general manager in international scouting, and former senior director of baseball analytics Michael Schwartze is their assistant GM in player personnel.
Injury updates: 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, manager Tony Vitello said. … Right-hander Tyler Mahle (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.