While the rumor mill focused on the San Francisco Giants landing a big bat along the lines of a Jay Bruce, San Francisco had their own ideas in mind. The Giants struck a deal with the Minnesota Twins that sent pitching prospect Adalberto Mejia to Minnesota in exchange for utility man Eduardo Nunez. The trade was first reported by Star Tribune's LaVelle E. Neal III.
From an overview perspective Nunez's numbers in the midst of a career season look tremendous, especially from an infielder. The 29-year-old holds a .296/.325/.439 triple-slash line this season with 12 home runs, 47 RBIs, 49 runs scored and 27 stolen bases. He is on pace to have a 20-40, terrific numbers from a left-handed, utility infielder.
Those numbers are especially impressive when added to the other skillset Nunez brings, versatility. Nunez can not only play all over the infield, as demonstrated by his five appearances at second base, 33 at third base and 51 at shortstop this season. He can also play the corner outfield spots when needed, though he hasn't appeared in the outfield this season. In 2014, Nunez appeared in 18 games in the outfield, 10 starts in left field, and he made two starts in left field last season.
For a Giants team that has been without third baseman Matt Duffy for over a month with a left Achilles strain and second baseman Joe Panik since June 27 with concussion symptoms, Nunez offers the versatility to step in at those positions so when they return, the Giants can bring them along slowly and make sure there is no risk of doing further damage.
When Duffy and Panik are fully healthy and in the lineup every day, Nunez will serve as the super utility player who can give left fielder Angel Pagan, shortstop Brandon Crawford and Duffy and Panik days off. It's the type of player San Francisco loves, a versatile, low-strikeout, left-handed bat. It also helps that Nunez is under team control next season, so the Giants aren't paying for a rental.
But there's also a greater reason the Twins traded him at his highest point. While his overall numbers look great, the 2016 All Star has seen a major drop in his totals. In July, Nunez has a .245/.267/.319 triple-slash line with a 52 wRC+. Even if you extend his numbers from June until now, he still only has a .265/.295//394 triple-slash line with an 82 wRC+.
Nunez also has just two home runs since June 28 and has just three home runs in his last 150 plate appearances. His power comes in streaks and right now, San Francisco is acquiring him in the midst of a major slump.
Until Duffy returns, Nunez should be the Giants starting third baseman. But no matter what position he is playing, the utility infielder has graded as a negative defensive fielder across the diamond.
In exchange for Nunez, Minnesota acquired Mejia, a left-handed pitching prospect who started the season in Double-A Richmond, where he registered a spectacular 1.94 ERA across 11 starts. He earned a promotion to Triple-A Sacramento and is still adjusting to the higher competition with a 1.30 WHIP and 4.20 ERA across seven starts.
Mejia projects in a best-case scenario, where he would develop better control for his fastball and refine his secondary pitches, as a fourth or fifth starting pitcher in a rotation. While that doesn't sound attractive from a fantasy perspective, teams covet young, left-handed starters who are under team control for multiple seasons.
Minnesota sold high on a player who served no real purpose for a team that has to rebuild after a disastrous 2016 season. The Twins make a great deal here and executed the sell-high perfectly. They have some young talent on the way and should be a fun team to watch in 2017, Mejia fits perfectly into that as he should be ready to join the Twins' rotation next season.