LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Giants have not hidden their need to find a center fielder who can chase down balls at AT&T Park. After prospect Steven Duggar's fine performance in the Arizona Fall League, they are rethinking the need to acquire one from the outside.

"We value Duggar as a guy we can look toward to in the future, so it does affect how we view addressing that need this offseason," general manager Bobby Evans said Monday during the first day of the winter meetings. "It does give us a mindset more short term."

In other words, the Giants might look to for a caretaker center fielder, an Austin Jackson type, rather than a long-term answer such as free agent Lorenzo Cain or the Reds' Billy Hamilton.

Duggar, 24, might have reached the majors in 2017 if not for elbow and hip injuries. After a terrible start to the Fall League, Duggar finished with .263 average, .367 on-base percentage, .421 slugging percentage and nine stolen bases in 10 tries.

On Monday he was one of six outfielders named to the league's Top Prospects team in a vote of managers and coaches. He displayed a quick bat and gap-to-gap power. More important, Duggar played his position well.

Evans would not go as far as saying he would be comfortable with Duggar and Gorkys Hernandez starting the year as the Giants' center fielders, but he did not rule it out either.

If nothing else, Duggar's presence provides the Giants leverage in trade and free-agent discussions for center fielders and a potential way to help the club stay below the luxury tax by blunting the need to spend on a center fielder with more experience.

No taxation? Giants officials continue to downplay the prospects of signing Cain, third baseman Mike Moustakas or any free agent who was given a qualifying offer by his former club. The Giants do not want to lose two draft picks, including a second-rounder, in a year they will draft second in each round. They also would have to forfeit $1 million in international bonus money for the 2018-19 signing period.

Free agent outfielders Jay Bruce and J.D. Martinez, and third baseman Todd Frazier, got no qualifying offers and the Giants are known to have varying interest in all three.

Many industry folks at the winter meetings see the Pirates' Andrew McCutchen as a good fit, perhaps as a short-term center fielder to complement Duggar, but the McCutchen's $14 million salary, though relatively inexpensive, might hinder the Giants' ability to get a bigger run producer and stay below the tax. He is not viewed as a priority.

MLB.com reported the Giants are talking to the Marlins about left fielder Marcell Ozuna. After the Giancarlo Stanton saga, Miami's front office well knows what it could get in return from San Francisco.

Executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean said avoiding the tax is a goal, but not a mandate.

"We do have a lot of business at hand, so it's not a finish line," Sabean said. "As a baseball group we'd like to be out of the luxury tax. Whether that's reality or not, who knows?

Melancon throwing: Closer Mark Melancon, who underwent a rare forearm operation in September to relieve pressure on the nerves in his pitching arm, is playing catch with no pain, head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner said.

Infielder Christian Arroyo is expected to be healthy for spring training after a setback this fall. He required a plate inserted into his left handed to stabilize the fifth metacarpal, which was broken by a pitch in Triple-A in July.

Scholarship auction: The Giants organized this year's winter meetings online charity auction. The cause is a scholarship fund, named for the late baseball executive Katy Feeney, for women seeking degrees in sports management at USF.

Each team donated memorabilia and experiences. For instance, one item is spending a game at AT&T Park in the broadcast booth.

Go to www.mlb.com/wintermeetingsauction.

New enshrinees: Former Tigers and Twins pitcher Jack Morris got emotional at a news conference the day after he and former Detroit teammate Alan Trammell were elected to the Hall of Fame by a 16-person veterans committee. Morris broke down several times.

He was in Orlando when he got the phone call Sunday saying he was elected. Trammell was on an All--Star flight from San Diego with Giants manager Bruce Bochy, Trevor Hoffman, Brad Ausmus, Bud Black and agent John Boggs.

Trammell was asked to keep it quite for 15 minutes until it was announced on MLB Network. He broke the news to all the baseball folks near a luggage carousel.

"I can honestly say it was the biggest celebration ever at baggage claim," Boggs said.

Trammell was in seat 31D (with Bochy in first class). Maybe now Trammell can get a Hall of Fame upgrade.

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: hschulman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hankschulman