San Francisco Giants: Joe Panik being shopped
By Sean O'Leary
The San Francisco Giants are reportedly considering an upgrade at second base
Since the San Francisco Giants first-round pick made his big league debut in 2014, he has been the everyday starter at second base.
He was a breath of fresh air, a young piece to build around and a gold glove winner. However, during his age 27 season, he struggled to hit, and wasn’t on the field as much due to groin and hand injuries. He hit .254, and had the worst OPS of his career, .639, hitting for virtually no power. He hit only four home runs, and 14 doubles in his 102 games. In 2017, he hit .288/.347/.421 with 10 homers, so the possibility of production is still there.
The Giants are shopping Panik due to their interest in DJ LeMahieu, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
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As of now, there have been no reports of potential suitors for a Panik trade, but if the Giants’ interest in LeMahieu is real, then Panik will have to be moved. Although he was bad last season, he is still good enough to be a starter somewhere.
Alen Hanson played second base in Panik’s absence, and played pretty well doing so. Hanson hit .252/.274/.425 with eight home runs and 17 doubles. He will serve as a good backup and utility player if the Giants do in fact shop Panik.
As for landing spots for Panik, the now LeMahieu-less Rockies would be an option, if the Giants wanted to trade within the division.
The Detroit Tigers currently list Dawel Lugo as their starting second baseman, who played in just 27 games last season and slashed .213/.267/.309 with one home run and four doubles. They are another option if they don’t want Lugo to play every day just yet.
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Panik won two World Series with the San Francisco Giants and has long been a fan favorite. Fans will struggle with the idea of letting him go, but in a rebuilding year under Farhan Zaidi, he will be a nice asset to trade.