Tommy La Stella played Giants killer for the Los Angeles Angels last season when he hit a walk-off two-run homer off closer Trevor Gott. The Giants made sure this offseason that won't happen again.
Sources told NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic the Giants are close to a three-year contract with the veteran infielder. Broadcaster Mike Krukow couldn't be happier La Stella is coming to San Francisco.
"I like the fact that the guy has skills and he can do a lot of things at the plate," Krukow said Thursday morning on KNBR's "Murph & Mac" show. "To me, that was a great add. I loved it when the A's got him and now I'm really happy that the Giants got him."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
La Stella is known as a contact hitter, but Krukow believes he actually can bring some power to the Giants' lineup. He hit five homers between the Angels and A's last year. However, he hit a career-high 16 long balls in 2019 when he made his first All-Star Game as a member of the Angels.
Whether he brings more pop to the lineup or not, one thing is clear: La Stella crushes right-handed pitching. He hit .303 with a .903 OPS off righties last season. All five of his homers came against righties.
La Stella figures to be a perfect fit around the Giants' infield. He can play second, third and first base. The veteran lefty could platoon with right-handed hitters like Wilmer Flores, Donovan Solano and Mauricio Dubon. He could even get time at first when Brandon Belt needs a break.
RELATED: Giants prospect Luciano's stock flying high before '21 season
San Francisco Giants
In an age of power that produces home runs or strikeouts, La Stella is much more of an old-school player from back in Krukow's day. He's the ultimate tough at-bat. In 228 plate appearances, La Stella struck out just 12 times all season. That's a ridiculously low 5.3 percent of the time.
Krukow saw La Stella hit .296 with two homers, eight RBI and a 1.000 OPS in seven games against the Giants last season. Now, he's ready to watch him cause the same kind of damage against the NL West this year.