Report: SF Giants "discussing a trade" to acquire middle infielder

With Brandon Crawford on the shelf and Thairo Estrada likely to join him soon enough after being hit in the head in Saturday night's game, the SF Giants have run thin on shortstop depth. It looks like they are planning to get creative to patch that hole.

Report: SF Giants "discussing a trade" to acquire middle infielder

According to Jon Morosi of the MLB Network, the Giants and Chicago Cubs are discussing a trade involving middle infielder Dixon Machado. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area adds that the plan is to get Machado to Oracle Park in time for Sunday night's game against the Cubs.

The middle infielder originally signed with the Detroit Tigers as an international free agent during the 2008-2009 J2 signing period. He debuted with the club in 2015 where he recorded 16 hits with only three extra-base hits in 68 at-bats.

His struggles at the plate continued in the ensuing three seasons as he never posted an OPS above .621 in four seasons with the Tigers. In total, he has registered a .227/.285/.295 line (58 OPS+) with a 6.7 percent walk rate against an 18 percent strikeout rate.

Despite his offensive struggles, Machado has typically been a reliable option with the glove. He has spent the bulk of his time at shortstop and second base, but he has a bit of experience at third base as well.

The 30-year-old infielder played overseas for a couple of seasons (2020 - 2021) with the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). In that time, Machado excelled at the plate, slashing .280/.359/.393 while reaching double-digits in home runs in both seasons.

He joined the Cubs on a minor league deal prior to the 2022 season. With the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate, Machado has posted a .796 OPS in 391 plate appearances.

The Giants have run thin on shortstop depth at the upper levels. Will Wilson and Donovan Walton are both on Sacramento's injured list whereas Isan Díaz has rarely appeared at shortstop over the past couple of seasons.

For a front office that stresses the importance of depth, the Giants have run out of options at shortstop. The trade should be completed soon enough at a minimal cost and Machado would bridge the gap at shortstop until Crawford returns.