Could Tommy Edman be a valuable trade option to improve SF Giants' Lineup and Defense?

After signing Jung Hoo Lee to a 6-year, $113 million deal, Farhan Zaidi has said the SF Giants are still in the market for a utility bat. Free agency does not have a lot of options, but one trade target makes a lot of sense for the Giants - Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman.

Could Tommy Edman be a valuable trade option to improve SF Giants' Lineup and Defense?

While there are utility options available in free agency, adding Edman would give the Giants a good utility bat and versatile defender.

Edman is similar to former Giants utility player Mauricio Dubón in that he plays all the up-the-middle positions: shortstop, second base, and center field. Unlike Dubón, Edman is also a switch hitter with respectable power numbers who has been remarkably consistent at the plate. It also doesn’t hurt that Edman went to college at Stanford so he has some Bay Area ties. 

Last season with the Cardinals, Edman hit .248/.307/.399 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI. He also stole 27 bases for the Cardinals.

Edman checks a lot of boxes for a Giants team in need of better defense and speed. He grades out well defensively and would take the pressure off of Thairo Estrada and Marco Luciano up the middle. He could also play center field on days that Jung Hoo Lee takes off and he is good enough of an athlete that he could play the corner outfield spots as well to give Mike Yastrzemski or Michael Conforto a rest.

What would it take to get Edman, though? We recently examined a possible trade between the Cardinals and Giants where Joey Bart would go to the Cardinals in exchange for Dylan Carlson. What if the Giants gave up Bart, Grant McCray, and Landen Roupp in exchange for Edman.

This trade could be a tough sell, especially for a Cardinals team that already has too many outfielders. That said, McCray is not on the 40-man roster and ranks as one of the Giants' best position players. Similarly, Roupp is one of the better pitching prospects in the organization. Plus, the Cardinals would receive Bart, who could serve as a competent backup to Willson Contreras.

I’ll leave it for the Giants' front office to figure out the rest, but there is no doubt that Edman would help the Giants out in more ways than one and given the fact that the Giants are looking for a utility bat, there aren’t much better you will find than the 28-year-old infielder.