Giants: Fantasy Fallout From Eduardo Nunez Trade
By Bill Pivetz
The Giants needed infield depth with the injuries to multiple infielders. With the competition heating up, the team traded for Eduardo Nunez.
The San Francisco Giants have a 2.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. As many teams know, that lead could disappear in the blink of an eye. With the recent trade the Chicago Cubs made, the Giants needed to make a trade of their own. The team has had multiple injuries to their infield, so to add some depth, they traded for Eduardo Nunez.
Entering this season, the Giants looked to have one of the best infield in the league. Matt Duffy at third, Brandon Crawford at shortstop, Joe Panik manning second base and Brandon Belt and Buster Posey splitting time at first base. But, injuries have prevented these four, or five, from playing together.
Duffy is dealing with an Achilles injury since June 20. Panik was on the 7-day DL with concussion symptoms, and has recently just returned. With two of their younger infielders a cause for concern, the Giants needed someone to back them up for the forseeable future.
This trade makes sense on both sides of the ball. The Giants add a utility man for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. The Minnesota Twins receive a young, left-handed pitcher in Adalberto Mejia.
Nunez is having a career season this year. In 90 games, he has 12 home runs, 47 RBI, 26 steals and a .300 batting average. He doesn’t take a lot of walks, only 14, but he also doesn’t strike out a lot either, 55 strikeouts. He is a shortstop by default, Nunez has experience playing at both second and third base.
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If you own Nunez, his value rises a little. He’ll be on a better hitting team and will have protection around him. He’ll still steal some bases, but the power may decline. According to ESPN Park Factors, AT&T Park ranks last in home runs. Considering his previous season high was five home runs, you shouldn’t rely on him for power.
I expect him to get most of his playing time over at third base, bumping Conor Gillaspie from the starting job. Nunez already has third base eligibility, so you wouldn’t need to wait for the required amount of playing time.
The Twins call up prospect Jorge Polanco to replace Nunez. In 13 games in the majors, he has a .231 average with one home run and four RBI. Down in Triple-A, he was hitting .271 with nine homers, 37 RBI and a .331 on-base percentage.
Polanco is owned in just 0.4 percent of ESPN leagues. With this promotion, expect his ownership percentage to go up significantly.
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This was a move that seemingly came out of nowhere. The Giants felt like they needed another infielder as Duffy continues to miss time. Concussions are tricky to deal with so Panik is someone to keep an eye on. I like Nunez for the next two months and Polanco is a prospect to watch for the 2017 season.