Twins trade Eduardo Nunez to Giants for pitching prospect
The Minnesota Twins have traded All-Star shortstop Eduardo Nunez to the San Francisco Giants for left-handed pitching prospect Adalberto Mejia.
Nunez was the Twins' lone All-Star selection this season, batting .296 (110-for-371) with 15 doubles, 12 home runs, 47 RBI and an American League-leading 27 stolen bases in 91 games. He broke into the Twins' lineup in April, batting .373 that month, and hit .320 in May and .289 in June.
"The Twins are a great organization and made me feel like at home," Nunez said after the Twins' 6-2 win over Baltimore on Thursday. "But at the end of the day, it's business, baseball. You go wherever is best for you and the team. The Giants want me and I'm going to go there and do my best."
The 29-year-old Nunez began his career with the New York Yankees before the Twins traded for him in 2014. He played 72 games each of the past two seasons, batting .250 in 2014 and .282 last year.
"He's been a very polished professional this year in how he's handled everything," manager Paul Molitor said. "I'm happy for him. It's an opportunity to go out there and contribute to a team that's trying to set its sights fairly high."
His former Minnesota teammates expressed a similar sentiment on social media.
Going to miss my brother @EduardoNunez15. One of my favorite teammates I've ever played with! Suerte en SF! pic.twitter.com/WjzW03rKCb
— Trevor Plouffe (@TPlouffe24) July 29, 2016
Mejia posted a 1.94 ERA in 11 starts in Double-A this season but has a 4.20 ERA in seven Triple-A starts. Baseball America ranked the 23-year-old 91st on its midseason list of the top-100 prospects.
The Twins will assign Mejia to Triple-A Rochester.
"We believe he's a guy who should surface up here fairly quickly," interim general manager Rob Antony said. "He's got the full three-pitch mix, he's got a big, durable body, and he's a guy that we think slots in well and should for hopefully several years in our rotation."
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Mejia signed with the Giants as an international free agent in February 2011. Milb.com ranked him as the Giants' No. 4 prospect at the end of the 2014 season. His ranking dropped, however, after the Commissioner's Office suspended him for 50 games that November for testing positive for a banned stimulant.
Mejia rebounded to post a 2.45 ERA in 12 games (51 1/3 innings) in Double-A in 2015.
For San Francisco, the move adds some much-needed depth to its infield, which is dealing with injuries to second baseman Joe Panik, third baseman Matt Duffy and backup infielder Ehire Adrianza.
"We just feel like he can help us cover the tracks as we get 100 percent healthy and get Duffy and Panik back," Giants general manager Bobby Evans said. "It allows us to have the ability to still give them some rest even down the stretch."
Nunez is likely to play third base until Duffy -- who could possibly begin a rehab assignment this weekend -- returns. He started 28 games there this season for the Twins while also splitting time at shortstop.
The Twins will recall infielder Jorge Polanco from Rochester to replace Nunez on the 25-man roster. The 23-year-old is hitting .276 with 14 doubles, six triples, nine home runs and 39 RBI in 75 games for the Red Wings this season.
Polanco hit .231 with three doubles, a home run and four RBI in 23 at-bats in three previous stints with the Twins this season.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
