A pair of former All-Stars among the players the SF Giants should consider for infield depth

The SF Giants enter 2024 hoping the young phenom Marco Luciano can be the everyday shortstop. But in the event that Luciano struggles, they will need a back up plan.

A pair of former All-Stars among the players the SF Giants should consider for infield depth

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) reported that the SF Giants are out on Tim Anderson and Ames Rosario, two of the top shortstops available in free agency.

But Farhan Zaidi has talked about how the Giants are interested in a utility player, ideally with options, that they could have on the roster to back up Luciano and potentially play all over the field for them.

Here at Around the Foghorn we looked at one potential option in the form of former Dodger Kiké Hernández .

Yet, his struggles at shortstop with the Red Sox last year do not inspire great confidence especially when there are already question marks about Luciano’s defensive abilities.

There are other options out there though. None is a perfect match for what Zaidi said he is looking for, but they would provide much-needed depth at the shortstop position for the SF Giants. At the end of the day, the Giants want Luciano to be the starter but they should have the type of depth that can take over in case of an injury.

The goal is to avoid the depth issues the Giants had at shortstop last year where they had to try out Johan Camargo and Paul DeJong late in the year with the hopes of mustering any type of meaningful production.

A pair of former All-Stars among the players the SF Giants should consider for infield depth

1. Elvis Andrus

Giants fans will remember Elvis Andrus from the 2010 World Series when he was just 21 years old. Now he is a veteran two-time All-Star and could make sense as a backup to Luciano and something of a mentor to him.

He is not much of a threat with the bat anymore as he slashed .251/.304/.358 with 6 home runs and 44 RBI last season for the White Sox.

But he is still a solid glove at shortstop and has added a good amount of time at second base and third base in recent seasons.

He could be a good option for the team as they have been looking for some extra depth up the middle especially since a lot of their internal options like Casey Schmitt and Tyler Fitzgerald seem a bit too green to be trusted at this point.

Andrus would make sense on a one year deal to come in and provide a little stability as Luciano and the other young infielders get their sea legs.

2. Nick Ahmed

Giants fans will be familiar with Nick Ahmed for the many years he spent as the shortstop for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was released last season towards the end of the year.

As a two-time Gold Glove winner, Ahmed is very much a glove-first option similar to Andrus. His career offensive numbers have been paltry except for two seasons in 2018 and 2019 where he was productive with the bat.

He will be entering his age-34 season, and like Andrus would make sense on a minor-league deal as someone of a bridge while the Giants sort out their young infielders. These options highlight the fact that the trade market is the better route for the front office.