Giants Acquire Nate Furman As PTBNL In Alex Cobb Deal

The Giants have acquired minor league infielder Nate Furman from the Guardians as the player to be named later in the trade that sent Alex Cobb from San Francisco to Cleveland, per announcements from both clubs. Cleveland also sent young lefty Jacob Bresnahan to San Francisco at the time of the swap. Robert Murray of FanSided reported Furman’s swap prior to the deal being made official.

Furman, 23, was Cleveland’s fourth-round pick back in 2022. He’s not ranked prominently among the team’s prospects but posted a big .338/.417/.500 batting line in 176 plate appearances at High-A this season before struggling in 13 games in the wake of a promotion to Double-A (.125/.300/.200 in 51 plate appearances). It’s possible that health played a role in those struggles with the Guards’ affiliate in Akron, however. Furman hit the injured list with a strain in his right shoulder late in June, was transferred to the minor league 60-day injured list in July, and has still yet to return to action.

With the Guards, Furman played primarily second base and third base. He played both middle infield slots in college at the University of North Carolina. Scouting reports tout him as a plus runner who’ll likely settle in at second base. While Furman didn’t show much power in college (three career homers) and didn’t hit a home run in 2023, he popped seven long balls in High-A this season. He’s also 47-for-54 in stolen bases during his young professional career, and he’s shown a plus approach at the plate, with a 13.6% walk rate against a 13.9% strikeout rate. Furman has high-end speed and bat-to-ball skills, but he’ll need to continue to add power and/or break out as a high-level defender at second base in order to profile as a regular.

The trade of Furman finalizes the return for the veteran Cobb, whom Cleveland has thus far only been able to utilize for two starts. The veteran righty pitched 10 1/3 innings and allowed five runs during that pair of outings and has since been placed back on the 15-day injured list due to a finger injury. Those are the first two starts Cobb has made this season. He opened the year on the injured list while rehabbing from offseason hip surgery and dealt with shoulder and blister issues that delayed his return to the big leagues.