The San Francisco Giants are heavily in the market for a second baseman, in which they are reportedly “aggressively pursuing a second baseman and have been engaged with Chicago on Nico Hoerner and St Louis on Brendan Donovan”, states Jeff Passan of ESPN on Twitter this afternoon. The Giants already have a mostly sound infield, which includes Willy Adames at short, Rafael Devers at first base, and gold-glove Matt Chapman at third base. Passan correctly adds that if the Giants were able to add a high-end caliber second baseman, such as a Nico Hoerner or Brendan Donovan, that it would arguably make them one of “the best infield’s in MLB”, states Passan.
Nico Hoerner Would Be Perfect Fit For The Giants
Nico Hoerner, age 28, was the everyday Cubs second baseman in 2025, and is known as a player with elite bat-to-ball skills, posting a .297 batting average with a .345 on-base percentage and an 11.2 whiff percentage and 7.6 K percentage, both placing him in the 99th percentile amongst Major League hitters in 2025, according to Baseball Savant. Hoerner is also an elite defender, posting a 15 OAA, Outs Above Average, ranking in the 98th percentile amongst second basemen in 2025, according to Baseball Savant.
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He would be an immediate upgrade offensively and defensively for the Giants, and he can hit at the top of the order. Hoerner is set to make $12 million in 2026 and will be a free agent at the end of the season, according to Spotrac. The Cubs have reportedly been “listening” to offers on him, but it’s reported that the expectation is the price for Hoerner would be “very high”, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network.
Brendan Donovan Has Similar Skill Set To Nico Hoerner
Brendan Donovan is also 28 years old and has a similar profile to Hoerner, with excellent bat-to-ball skills. Donovan posted a .287 batting average with a .353 on-base percentage in 2025, in which he had a 13.4 percent whiff percentage and a 13 percent K percentage, ranking in the 95th and 92nd percentile, according to Baseball Savant. Donovan, however, is just a league-average defender at second base, posting a -1 OAA (outs above average) in 2025, placing him in the 41st percentile among second basemen, according to Baseball Savant.
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Looking at the pros and cons of Hoerner and Donovan, both get on base at a high clip and are great bat-to-ball contact hitters; Hoerner’s advantage is being a better defender. Neither player will come cheap, though. Donovan, unlike Hoerner, has multiple years of control left on his contract, in which he won’t become a free agent until the end of the 2027 season, according to Spotrac. He’s also significantly cheaper, costing just 5.8 million in 2026 compared to Hoerner’s 12 million, per Spotrac.
As for whether the Giants can pull off a trade for either of these players remains to be seen. Either would be a great addition to the Giants’ infield mix and everyday starting lineup. It’s also worth noting that, besides this report from Jeff Passan, it’s publicly known that the New York Yankees are listening to offers as well on all-star second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr, who’s also in his walk year. Still, there remains uncertainty as to whether the Yankees would actually move him in a deal this offseason.
Giants Want A New Second Baseman – And They’re Pushing Hard