Giants acquire shortstop Eduardo Nunez from Twins

The San Francisco Giants, in need of infield help due to injuries, have acquired an All-Star infielder on Thursday. 

The team announced that they have traded for Minnesota Twins' shortstop and third baseman Eduardo Nunez in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Adalberto Mejia. 

Nunez fits well in San Francisco because they have had to deal with ailments to key parts of their infield. Second baseman Joe Panik was just activated from the concussion disabled list, and third baseman Matt Duffy is currently out with a strained achilles. 

The 29-year-old is enjoying his most successful season to date, posting a .300/.326/.444 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI over 391 plate appearances, adding 26 stolen bases. With decent defense, Nunez has been worth 1.5 Wins Above Replacement (FanGraphs). 

Due to a great year this year, Nunez was named to the American League All-Star team, his first as a professional. 

Another positive to acquiring Nunez is his contract status. Formerly signed by the Yankees as a Dominican free agent, Nunez is still signed through next season and is set to hit arbitration for his final time during the offseason. He is making $1.48 million on his current one-year deal. 

As for the Twins, Mejia is currently pitching in Triple-A Sacramento. The 23-year-old has a 4.20 ERA and a 43 to 11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 40 2/3 innings pitched. He was named as the Giants' 7th-best prospect in MLB.com's updated midseason prospect rankings. 

--Devan Fink

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