San Francisco trades third baseman Eduardo Nuñez to the Boston Red Sox for two pitching prospects.
For a team already playing out the string in late July, the Giants made splashy news on two fronts Tuesday night.
Most significantly, they traded third baseman Eduardo Nuñez to the Boston Red Sox for minorleague pitchers Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos. The deal ended lingering rumors involving Nuñez, who was hitting .308 and will become a free agent after the season.
“It’s exciting to go for a championship,” Nuñez said after the Giants beat Pittsburgh 11-3. Asked about the possibility of returning to San Francisco next year, he said, “I would love it. I’ve said multiple times: I love the players, the fans, the city.”
On the field, Madison Bumgarner picked up his
first victory of the season — two weeks after the All-Star Game and one week before August arrives — as the Giants seized an early 10-0 lead and steamed to a rare romp.
Even so, Bumgarner’s longawaited breakthrough slid into the background after the news broke about Nuñez, the subject of trade rumors most of the month.
And, yes, his departure could clear the way for Pablo Sandoval’s return to San Francisco. Sandoval went 1-for-4 for Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday night, though manager Bruce Bochy insisted the Giants will not bring up Sandoval “until he’s ready.”
The Giants also will face three left-handed pitchers this weekend in Los Angeles, as Bochy pointed out, and that’s not exactly Sandoval’s strength. So he might not come back until next week, when the Giants meet the A’s in a four-game interleague series.
Nuñez started for the Giants and played 4½ innings before Kelby Tomlinson pinch hit for him in the fifth. Moments earlier, the NBCSBA televcast showed Nuñez hugging several teammates in the tunnel just below the third-base dugout.
The trade apparently survived a treacherous moment in the third inning when Nuñez was hit by a pitch on his left elbow. He clearly was in pain, even if the ball hit him on his thick elbow guard. Nuñez stayed in the game.
The Giants acquired Nuñez, 30, from Minnesota on July 28, 2016. He hit .269 last season for the Giants, and he joined Buster Posey as the only regulars above .300 this year. Nuñez’s impending free agency made a trade all but inevitable.
“I’m sad to see him go, but excited for him: He’s going to a team fighting to get to the playoffs,” outfielder Denard Span said. “We’ll definitely miss his energy.”
Or, as Bumgarner said, “He was a great player for us. We all enjoyed having him here, but who knows? He might be back.”
Neither of the right-handed pitchers coming to the Giants is close to reaching the majors. Anderson, 22, has a 6-3 record and 3.42 ERA in 18 starts this season at Class A Greenville and Advanced Class A Salem. Boston selected him in the third round of last year’s amateur draft from the University of Florida.
Santos is only 17. He’s 2-0 with an 0.90 ERA in seven starts this year for the Dominican Summer League Red Sox.
Bumgarner (1-4), meantime, finally climbed into the win column in his seventh start of this forgettable season. He pitched five solid innings, allowing one run and collecting four strikeouts.
Bumgarner went 0-3 in four starts before spraining his left shoulder in an April 20 dirt-bike accident in Colorado. He was 0-1 in his first two starts after returning from the disabled list.
The Giants gave Bumgarner a rare, welcome cushion by seizing a 10-0 lead through four innings. Honest. This counted as a certifiable eruption for a team with the third-fewest runs (394) in the majors entering Tuesday’s play.
Bumgarner wasn’t especially sharp, but he repeatedly slithered out of trouble; the Pirates stranded seven baserunners in his five innings.
“You could tell he was happy: He had a big smile on his face,” Span said of Bumgarner. “He’s been through a lot this season.”
Tuesday night’s triumph also ensured San Francisco’s first season series victory of 2017, not counting interleague play. The Giants are 4-1 this season against the Pirates, with only Wednesday’s homestand finale remaining.