San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Meet the New Guy

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we meet the newest Giant and go through the daily injury updates.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Thursday, the Giants lost again, their 10th loss in 12 games, dropping game one to the Washington Nationals, 4-2. Tanner Roark (10-6) was the winner, while Johnny Cueto (13-3) took the loss. Shawn Kelley earned his fifth save by getting the final out in a hectic ninth inning.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were off on Thursday, but picked up another half-game in the division by virtue of the Giants’ loss. The Giants’ National League West lead is down to just two games. The Colorado Rockies are also hot, having won seven of their last 10 to climb within two games of .500, and within nine games in the division.

It wasn’t all bad for the Giants on Thursday, as they did make their first trade of Hot Stove season. Let’s get to know the new guy.

1 – Meet the Newest Giant

Right around first pitch on Thursday, the Giants’ announced a deal, acquiring infielder Eduardo Nunez from the Minnesota Twins, in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Adalberto Mejia. The 29-year-old is from the Dominican Republic, and is in his seventh season as big leaguer.

Nunez was once considered the man who would eventually replace Derek Jeter at shortstop for the New York Yankees, but that never really panned out. In four years with the Yankees, Nunez hit .267/.313/.379 with 36 doubles, seven triples, 10 home runs, 102 runs scored, and 48 stolen bases. In April of 2014, he was designated for assignment and subsequently traded to the Twins.

Between 2014 and 2015, Nunez played 144 games for Minnesota, mostly as a backup infielder. This season has been a breakout year for the young man, with his .296/.325/.439 slash-line, 15 doubles, 12 home runs, 47 runs batted in, and 49 runs scored in 91 games. He was the Twins’ lone representative in San Diego for the All-Star Game.

Nunez’s best asset is his speed. He’s stolen 27 bases this season, a total that leads the American League, and 92 in his career. The Giants don’t have a big base-stealing threat in the lineup, with Denard Span and Angel Pagan, the team’s leaders, both having nine. He can add a new dimension to the offense with his speed. He fits in with the team’s contact-based philosophy, with a 14 percent strikeout rate.

He is also very versatile. Nunez has primarily played at shortstop in his career, with 249 games at the position, but also has a lot of experience at third base, with 147 games. Until the team is healthy, Nunez will probably play third base on a regular basis, but can give Brandon Crawford the occasional day off. Crawford has started 95 of 101 games this season at shortstop.

In addition to those two spots, Nunez can play second base (28 games), and even has spent time in the outfield (23 games in left field, six in right field).