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Twins trade All-Star Nunez to Giants

Brace Hemmelgarn / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The San Francisco Giants have acquired All-Star infielder Eduardo Nunez from the Minnesota Twins for left-hander Adalberto Mejia, the teams announced Thursday.

Nunez, once known primarily for being Derek Jeter's backup in New York, is in the midst of his breakout season as one of the few bright spots on the American League-worst Twins.

The 29-year-old owns a career-best .300/.326/.444 line with 15 doubles, 12 home runs, and an AL-best 26 stolen bases en route to his first career All-Star appearance. He's displayed a great deal of versatility this year, playing 50 games at shortstop, 33 at third base, five at second base, and another six as a designated hitter.

Fantasy Fallout: Nunez's value holds true with move to Giants

The Giants likely value Nunez's versatility given the current state of their infield. Second baseman Joe Panik recently returned from the disabled list, while third baseman Matt Duffy remains sidelined with an Achilles injury. Nunez could potentially help in the outfield as well, which could be useful given Hunter Pence's prolonged absence; he's appeared in 29 games as an outfielder over his seven-year career.

Nunez is being paid $1.475 million this season, and has a year of arbitration eligibility remaining before reaching free agency. He owns a .275/.313/.402 career line with 30 home runs over 504 career games with the Twins and Yankees.

Mejia was ranked as the No. 91 prospect on Baseball America's top 100 midseason prospect list. The 23-year-old pitched in this year's Futures Game in San Diego and was recently promoted to Triple-A Sacramento, where he owns a 4.20 ERA in seven starts for the RiverCats. In 105 2/3 innings split between Sacramento and Double-A Richmond this year, Mejia owns a 2.81 ERA and 101 strikeouts.

Twins general manager Rob Antony told reporters Mejia will report to Triple-A Rochester, but he believes the Dominican native is "a pitcher we think will surface here (in Minnesota) pretty quickly."

In November 2014, Mejia was suspended 50 games after testing positive for the stimulant sibutramine.

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