Is a Bay Area Native a Better Second Base Trade Target for the Giants?
The San Francisco Giants have shopped around the trade market for an upgrade at the second base position. There are two names from NL Central teams, Nico Hoerner and Brendan Donovan, who have been on the Giants' radar. On one hand, the Chicago Cubs recently inked star third baseman Alex Bregman to a five-year deal, making Hoerner an expendable piece. With the end of Nolan Arenado’s tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals, it is clear they are committed to a full rebuild. Therefore, Donovan may be the next player departing from the Cardinals organization.
Before examining how each second baseman may fit with the Giants, here is a brief look at their respective careers so far. Hoerner is a Bay Area native out of Head-Royce School in Oakland and played college baseball at Stanford University. Since being drafted by the Cubs in 2018, he has spent his entire professional career with the organization, making his debut with the big league team during the 2019 season. In the last four seasons, the Bay Area native has been a vital part of the Cubs, playing in 135 games or more each season. Throughout his MLB career, he has a .282 batting average, 36 home runs, and 278 runs batted in. Similar to Hoerner, Donovan has been with the Cardinals for the duration of his professional career. However, he was not called up to the big league team until 2022. Since then, Donovan has collected a .282 average, 40 home runs, and 202 runs batted in.
Both second basemen are steady contact hitters and mirror each other’s numbers. However, where Hoerner may beat out Donovan is his experience with a winning and growing team. The Cardinals have been all over the map the last few seasons in terms of performance, while the Cubs have made steady progress and are hungry for more. With the Giants stuck at a crossroads and staying stagnant the last few seasons, bringing in an experienced player like Hoerner could give them a boost. Therefore, if the right trade package appears and the Bay Area native wants to come home, the Giants may pounce.
