It is obvious which rumored second baseman target SF Giants are more likely to land

Throughout the offseason, it has been reported that the SF Giants are looking to upgrade at second base. Jeff Passan of ESPN confirmed as much on Tuesday, connecting the team to both Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner and Brendan Donovan of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Passan wrote the following on social media: "The San Francisco Giants are aggressively pursuing a second baseman and have been engaged with Chicago on Nico Hoerner and St. Louis on Brendan Donovan, sources tell ESPN. An infield of Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Donovan or Hoerner and Rafael Devers would be among MLB's best."

SF Giants 'aggressively' pursuing second base upgrade

Sounds good to me, so go make it happen Buster! If only it were that simple.

The Cubs signing Alex Bregman to a five-year deal certainly makes the possibility of Chicago moving Hoerner more likely. He will be a free agent after the 2026 season so the Cubs may rationalize that they cannot pay him so why not move him now and at least get something for him.

It would not be easy for the Giants to wrest Hoerner away from Chicago. They'd probably have to give up a potential replacement for Hoerner like Casey Schmitt, a top-five organizational prospect, and maybe another player just for good measure.

Chicago signing Bregman shows they are looking to compete in 2026. Trading Hoerner, a guy who slashed .297/.345/.394 with seven homers and 61 runs batted in while swiping 29 bases and providing Gold Glove defense, would contradict that goal.

That is why it seems obvious that Donovan of the Cardinals is a more likely target. The Cardinals are in rebuild mode and the Giants have already been seen as a front-runner for him even though talks for Donovan seemingly slowed down over the holidays.

Of course, other teams like the Seattle Mariners have also been linked to Donovan. They could put together a potential package that would put pressure on the Giants to part with a top prospect.

Gavin Kilen and Carson Whisenhunt are two Giants prospects who have reportedly been floated in the Donovan discussions. Maybe the Giants would be willing to make that deal to add a guy to the lineup who makes contact at a high rate and sported a solid slash line of .287/.353/.422 in an All-Star campaign last season.

He would add a high-contact hitter to a lineup that has a lot of swing and miss in it right now which is something president of baseball operations Buster Posey has talked about as a priority.

While it is fun to dream about Hoerner, Donovan seems like the more likely target so maybe the Giants will go out and make a big trade for him to upgrade at second base.