SF Giants could nab versatile shortstop of the future in trade with Cardinals

The SF Giants have a clear need at shortstop. Brett Wisely and Tyler Fitzgerald are both serviceable in the role, but the Giants should pull the trigger on a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals to land the versatile Tommy Edman.

SF Giants could nab versatile shortstop of the future in trade with Cardinals

The Giants have cycled through a number of shortstops this year. They began the year with Nick Ahmed who was good defensively, limited offensively, and got hurt for a while. He was just designated for assignment.

The Giants also gave Marco Luciano, one of their top prospects, a shot at the role but he struggled mightily on defense and then got injured. He could still reemerge but as of right now is seeing more time at second base in the minors.

Brett Wisely has seen a lot of time at shortstop and has done well, playing solid defense and contributing a lot on offense as well. Tyler Fitzgerald has looked solid at the position as well, and his speed gives the Giants a weapon on the basepaths that they have not had in some time.

As of right now, the Giants are rolling with a Wisely-Fitzgerald platoon at shortstop. This has worked for now, but the Giants could benefit from having a more consistent everyday shortstop. That is where a trade with the Cardinals comes into play.

Tommy Edman is, like Wisely and Fitzgerald, a versatile player who can play up the middle at shortstop, second base, and center field. He also has a lot of speed with 106 career stolen bases. He is a career .265 hitter and has 53 homers and 222 RBI. He is also a switch hitter.

He would be a perfect solution for the Giants at shortstop. He could be an everyday presence in the lineup, perhaps even at the top of the order, and plays a very solid shortstop. He can also be moved around to different positions if the Giants make a move for another shortstop like Bo Bichette.

The one issue is that he has not played this season because he is still recuperating from wrist surgery that he had last October. He is set to return to action soon, so we can see if there is any obvious drop-off in production returning from the injury.

The Giants should definitely be interested in Edman. The Stanford product makes a lot of sense on the Giants and would provide a lot of stability to a position that has been a revolving door in 2024 after over a decade of stability with Brandon Crawford.

He would not come cheap. He is one of the better players in the Cardinals' organization, so they Giants may have to part ways with a top prospect like Marco Luciano or Carson Whisenhunt to land him. Perhaps if he does not look great in his initial return from the IL the Giants could get him at a bit of a discount.

Plus, if he performs well in a Giants uniform, they could sign him to a long-term deal that would set him up as the shortstop of the future for the team.

No matter what, the Giants should kick the tires on acquiring Edman as he would be a great addition to the team and would signal to the clubhouse that the Giants are serious about trying to make a push for the postseason.