San Francisco Giants to Trade Heliot Ramos to New York Yankees

The San Francisco Giants dealt their one of their best development stories at the trade deadline to an American League contender.

San Francisco Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The San Francisco Giants waited years for Heliot Ramos to become the player they hoped he would become. Now, he's a part of the franchise's past.

The Giants, sensing an opportunity to capitalize on Ramos’ exceptional play the past few seasons and knowing that he's heading into his arbitration seasons, are trading him to the New York Yankees, pending medical review. ESPN's Jeff Passan and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal were on it.

The Giants have not made a formal announcement.

Ramos was not believed to be on the market until the final week of the trade deadline. Much of the focus from MLB analysts was on right fielder Jung Hoo Lee, who has a bigger contract.

Ramos was a cheaper option, but he is heading into his arbitration seasons and San Francisco saw an opportunity to leverage that into more talent for the future.

It ends a long partnership with Ramos, who turned into one of the better first-round picks the last decade for San Francisco

Giants Trade Heliot Ramos

San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ramos was the Giants’ first-round pick in 2017 out of Leadership Christian Academy in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He was dropped into the Giants’ system, and he struggled to make headway, with his development partially derailed by the COVID-19 shutdown of minor league baseball in 2020.

He got a cup of coffee with the Giants in 2022, as he only played in nine games. He played in 25 games in 2023 and in 2024 he finally broke out like a first-round pick. He slashed .269/.322/.469 with 22 home runs and 72 RBI in 121 games. His surge in the first half of the season was good enough to earn selection as a reserve for the National League in the 2024 All-Star Game.

He followed that up in 2025 with a slash of .256/.328/.400 with 21 home runs and 69 RBI. While his glove needs work, his offense proved to be a great fit with stars like shortstop Willy Adames, third baseman Matt Chapman and first baseman Rafael Devers, who was acquired last June in a massive trade.

Ramos spent time on the injured list this season but since his return his he’s hit at a similar slash and pace as his past two seasons, showing that his bat has finally turned into a consistent threat at the plate.

What made Ramos a key piece to move was his control as a player. Since he hasn’t hit arbitration yet, he still has three controllable years ahead of him. That makes him an enticing trade chip for teams that want to control cost on their roster. Ramos cannot be a free agent until the 2030 season.

San Francisco hoped it wouldn’t be in this position. But president of baseball operations Buster Posey must look ahead now that the Giants are destined to miss the playoffs. Looking ahead means saying goodbye to Ramos.