The Giants have the most obvious hole on any roster of any contender, possibly of any contender in the last decade of trade deadlines. They are literally playing Dan Uggla on purpose. As such, they're interested in every second baseman. A rundown, with grades on the rumors:
Asdrubal Cabrera
Sources: Indians have discussed Asdrubal Cabrera with Blue Jays and Giants this week. Not clear if either deal is viable now.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 30, 2014
Honestly, a Thomas Neal-type prospect makes sense for the Indians, considering they aren't going to offer Cabrera the qualifying offer (lest they get stuck with a $16 million shortstop blocking their top prospect). There will be no rage at this trade, though, considering that this Cabrera fits an actual need versus an invented need.
I've been angling for this cat for a long time. Too bad he isn't that good anymore. He's plenty good enough, though. The only reason I'm not wild for him is because there might be some competition from the A's and Jays, and there's no sense ditching good prospects for two months of sub-.700 OPS just to avoid two months of sub-.500 OPS.
Rumor grade: B
Emilio Bonifacio
A late entry into the rumor mill, he's alllll the rage right now:
Bonifacio, who is hitting .279 with two home runs and 18 RBI, would make a nice leadoff man for the Giants as long as Angel Pagan is out, potentially. His speed could be a weapon for anyone.
He's been worth about a win in each of the last two seasons, and his ability to a) play the outfield and b) leave the Giants alone next year makes him much more preferable to, say Aaron Hill.
Grade: B+
Gordon Beckham
#SFGiants still looking at 2B options, including Gordon Beckham, Emilio Bonifacio, Asdrubal Cabrera.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 30, 2014
Beckham is bad. Like, really bad. He's a career .246/.308/.377 hitter, and that's playing half his games in a park that generally favors right-handed hitters. Let's use the fun Baseball-Reference.com tool and see what those numbers might translate to in AT&T Park:
Woof. That's the kind of player who makes a GM look for second basemen at the deadline. Is he worse than Uggla? No, Beckham can field. But it's not a binary decision between Beckham and Uggla. It's more of a decision between giving up a prospect and starting Beckham or starting Joe Panik and keeping the prospect. The latter is much more preferable to the former.
If the White Sox will just let the Giants have him as a glorified PTBNL in the Conor Gillaspie deal, sure, why not? If he takes anyone -- anyone -- in the top 30, there's no point.
Grade: D-
Other assorted tidbits, not necessarily Giants-related: Jon Morosi says the Rays are still exploring Ben Zobrist trades, and Buster Olney reports the Diamondbacks are open to moving Martin Prado now, though they're unlikely to trade him within the division.
Second basemen! Bring us your second basemen! Pile up your second basemen and let us paw through them!