The Giants have reached out to the Pirates about infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, reports Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He’s presumably just one of several options being considered by a San Francisco club that has a notable need at second base.
Kiner-Falefa, 30, is hitting .274/.318/.340 on the season. He’s been about 16% worse than average at the plate, by measure of wRC+, but has offered value with his legs (12-for-15 in stolen base attempts) and glove. He’s also a tough strikeout, fanning in just over 16% of his plate appearances.
Though Kiner-Falefa isn’t enjoying his best season at the plate, there’s a low bar to clear at second base in San Francisco. Giants second basemen have combined for a .217/.275/.309 slash on the season — one of the least-productive groups in all of baseball. Last year’s breakout infielder, Tyler Fitzgerald, has struggled badly at the position and was optioned to Triple-A in late June. None of Christian Koss, Casey Schmitt or Brett Wisely has provided more offense when manning the position, and Fitzgerald has slashed just .246/.323/.281 in 65 plate appearances since being sent down.
Kiner-Falefa is in the second season of a two-year, $15MM deal originally signed with the Blue Jays. Toronto traded him to Pittsburgh at last year’s deadline. He’s been the primary shortstop for the Bucs this year but has experience playing all over the diamond, including more than 1500 innings at third base and more than 550 innings both at second base and in the outfield. Kiner-Falefa’s defensive marks in the outfield and during a brief experiment behind the plate are poor, but he’s considered a strong infield defender.
Given his status as an impending free agent on a last-place team that’s one of the few clear sellers around the league, Kiner-Falefa feels all but certain to be traded in the next nine days. The Pirates don’t have a prospect who’s knocking down the door for everyday reps at shortstop, but they can use the final two months of the season to look at Cam Devanney (acquired last week from the Royals in exchange for Adam Frazier) or perhaps any other infielders they might acquire as they continue what feels like an interminable rebuilding process.
What would be the cost?
A low level prospect and a flea market condition copy of World Series Baseball for the Sega Genesis
Play hardball. Hold out for the Playstation 5 version.
Best they can do is MLB Slugfest (2003 edition) for PS2
The longer they wait, the more expensive it could get. Offer a decent enough prospect that would incentivize them to do the deal now
Yes been doin a lot of praying he goes to Frisco.
“Frisco”, so you’re that supposed Yankees fan who went by ’27champyankees’ who used to troll Giants articles? (Joking, but not joking)
If Giants are truly interested in IKF they def don’t need to give up much in return. Maybe straight up Wisely or Fitzgerald. It would be trading 1 reserve INF for another
Cherington has said that he doesn’t want prospects and instead major league ready players with several years of control
I see IKF being traded in a package deal that would involve another pending free agent of the Pirates
Has Cherington actually said this? I can think of a clip where he says he has no preference on proximity. But not one where he says he prefers MLB proximity. Any chance you can link a quote?
it’s called google
The only quote I can find comes from Cherington’s last press conference. A reporter asks if he will focus on guys close to the majors. Cherington says, paraphrased, “we could do that. We could also trade for A ball guys and then flip prospects this offseason”, which kinda goes against your assertion.
Its fine. You dont have to prove anything to me. Just thought you might be someone who would engage in good faith. No biggy.
Sportsnet.com is where I read what Cherington said
Can Fitz play solid defense at short?
He’s not terrible, but not great either at SS. He has a negative OAA. He’s in the ballpark with guys like Mookie Betts, and Trea Turner. But unlike Mookie and Turner, Fitz can’t hit enough to compensate for the mediocre D.
What player(s) would be available? The Giant’s farm system has been good to the Pirates in the past: Reynolds and Bart.
Bart is having a lousy season, making me wonder if last year was a fluke
It sucks that the Pirates don’t have decent hitting catchers, something that was supposed to be a strength this year
Why? Casey Schmitt is either roughly equivalent or better. His OPS+ is 104 and he’s just starting to tap into his potential. He’s rising, IKF is falling.
Wolfgang 3, Maybe. I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen from Schmitt this season after a good deal of initial skepticism. But Schmitt has had one good month in MLB. He was really good in June. But so far this month he has a slash line of .156/.229/.188. That’s an OPS of just .416. It is a small sample, but I can’t blame the Giants for exploring options..
Could be interesting to buy low on Reynolds and package him with IKF.
Giants are on Reynolds no-trade list.
Realistically the Giants could probably get Thairo Estrada or Kyle Farmer from the Rockies for a bucket of balls and some Big League Chew…
The no-trade list means nothing more than him getting some compensation for waiving it.
IKF isn’t being given away like people think! He’s been good and will cost a team someone they weren’t expecting in a sellers market!
Nah, every day that goes by without a trade his return value deteriorates. The Pirates have to turn him into something, because he isn’t going to bring a competitive balance pick. As the deadline appears on the horizon, the pressure mounts onto Pittsburgh. He is a known quantity, so even if he puts together a 15 hits in the next week it won’t counterbalance the diminishing return by letting time go by. There is no doubt offers have already been made for IKF and most likely are better (and gone) than anything the Pirates can get for him now. There is always possibility of an unexpected injury on a surefire contender, or a desperate team who misses out on another target making a strong move… but outside of those two scenarios, the longer Pittsburgh waits the worse the offers get.
That’s one way to imagine the scenario. Another way is that the closer to the deadline it gets, the more desperate teams competing for a playoff spot gets which results in them paying more. Both are logical and possible. We really don’t know.
This!
A light-hitting infielder that can play all few spots, he’s definitely moving but not sure where. I just hope Hoyer doesn’t get him. IKF isn’t horrible, but need a little more thump if Cubs are sending Shaw back down to work on his swing.
Yankees better trade for IKF or Hayes instead of Suarez. Suarez is a big mistake. IKF never wanted to leave New York. Great team player
Yankees need to grab IKF but fast. He won’t need to shave off the whiskers this go-round.
Pirates can have Peraza and Brubaker.
The Giants have like 3 guys exactly like him; unless he makes the switch to catcher, this makes no sense.
He’s a versatile IF where from a roster perspective you don’t have depth as either 3B, SS or 2nd. This also suggests they’re uncertain Tyler Fitzgerald at least for 2025 is a lock for a possible playoff roster. You’d like to think his positional versatility both INF/OF would get him on but he’s had big time contact issues and cannot be in a lineup that also includes Bailey
IKF, Hayes, Baty, and Rosario would work for Yankees. I don’t want Suarez or Arenado
I don’t think the Giants have much faith in Fitzgerald. Unlike Schmitt, who came back with better plate discipline after being sent down, Fitzgerald hasn’t shown much development in that area. Schmitt hasn’t been especially good, but better than Fitzgerald, I think 2024 was a bit of a fluke based on some of Fitzgerald’s peripherals.
IKF is a professional ball player who unfortunately was forced to play his worst position in Pittsburgh. He’s best as 2B or a utility IF. Definitely has too weak of arm to be a great defensive SS.