Red Sox trade for Eduardo Nunez

After waiting months for the Red Sox to trade for a third baseman, the team called up top prospect Rafael Devers instead. That led many to believe they would be out of the running for any trade targets, deeming the market to be unsatisfactory. So much for that idea. While Devers was on the field for his major-league debut, the Red Sox reached an agreement with the Giants for infielder Eduardo Nunez.

Nunez has spent most of his time with the Giants at third base, but that isn’t the only spot he can play. Expect the Red Sox to use him as a utility player as he has experience in the corner outfield spots as well as both third base and shortstop. Boston wants a right-handed platoon partner for Devers, and Nunez would theoretically fill that role. On other days, he can provide speed off the bench and spell players like Xander Bogaerts and Andrew Benintendi.

As for his game at the plate, Nunez isn’t the big power hitter this Red Sox team has been lacking. Instead, he is a contact-oriented player who won’t walk much but can get a lot of hits. When he’s at his best, he’ll hit plenty of line drives. On top of that, he has great speed that will allow him to leg out a few more hits and make him a dynamic threat on the basepaths. It’ll be interesting to see how the Red Sox utilize him, but given their weak bench Nunez can make a big impact.

As of this writing, the return heading back to San Francisco has not been announced. We’ll update you when that news comes down.

UPDATE: According to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, the Red Sox are sending a couple of minor-league pitchers to San Francisco.

UPDATE 2: According to Alex Speier, the two pitching prospects are Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos.

Anderson is currently with High-A Salem and was selected in the third round of the 2016 draft. Santos is in the Dominican Summer League and was signed for $275,000 out of the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2015. We’ll have more on this package in the next day or two, but my first impression is that it seems fine. Anderson is interesting but not someone you care too deeply about losing. I’d prefer to deal him than someone with the upside of Darwinzon Hernandez, Mike Shawaryn or Bryan Mata.