Best San Francisco Giants of the 2010s: 28. Freddy Sanchez

Second baseman Freddy Sanchez came to the San Francisco Giants as a three-time All-Star and a former NL batting title winner.

The San Francisco Giants acquired Freddy Sanchez from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the 2009 trade deadline in exchange for top prospect Tim Alderson.

Alderson, a right-handed pitcher, was the No. 4 prospect in the San Francisco farm system and the No. 45 prospect in baseball at the start of 2009, according to Baseball America.

It was the second time in his career that he had been traded, as he was dealt from Boston to Pittsburgh at the 2003 trade deadline in exchange for veteran starter Jeff Suppan. This time around, he was the established centerpiece and not the prospect.

The Giants were looking to stabilize the second base position in the wake of the Ray Durham era, and Sanchez gave the team an established option at the keystone for the stretch run. He was hitting .296/.334/.442 for a 105 OPS+ in 382 plate appearances at the time of the trade, and he was fresh off his third All-Star appearance in four years.

He batted just .284/.295/.324 in 25 games after the trade, and the Giants wound up missing the playoffs, but that didn’t stop them from signing him to a two-year, $11 million extension during the offseason that replaced his 2010 club option.

In his first full season with the team, he hit .292/.342/.397 for a 102 OPS+ and 1.9 WAR in 111 games, to help the Giants win an NL West title.

After going a disappointing 2-for-16 during the NLDS, Sanchez went a combined 14-for-47 (.298) with four doubles, three RBI and three runs scored in the NLCS and World Series.

Injuries limited him to just 60 games in 2011 and that ended up being his final MLB action.

He retired a career .297/.335/.413 hitter with 15.9 WAR in 10 MLB seasons and his lone postseason appearance came during the 2010 season when he won a ring.

Check back here regularly as we count down the 50 best San Francisco Giants of the 2010s.