MLB Trade Rumors on Giants' Pursuit of Cubs' Nico Hoerner, Cardinals' Brendan Donovan

Amid a quiet offseason to this point, the San Francisco Giants might start to pick things up as they look to fill their void at second base.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Giants are "aggressively" pursuing trade options at second base, with Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs and Brendan Donovan of the St. Louis Cardinals among the candidates they are targeting.

After adding Alex Bregman to their infield mix, the Cubs have more infielders than places to play them and can use that surplus to address other areas of the roster that are in need of an upgrade.

Hoerner and Matt Shaw are the most likely trade candidates for the Cubs if they do make a move.

Shaw, who plays the same position as Bregman, is coming off a rookie season in which he hit .226/.295/.394 in 126 games. His overall slash line was underwhelming, but he was much better after the All-Star break (.258/.317/.522 in 205 plate appearances).

Hoerner is entering his final year of arbitration before hitting free agency next offseason. He has been a top-10 player by fWAR in the NL since 2022 and finished 19th in NL MVP voting last season.

Donovan has two years of arbitration remaining before he can become a free agent, so there is more value to an acquiring team if he gets traded. He hasn't been as good overall as Hoerner, but his offensive profile is better in comparison.

The Cardinals' utilityman owns a .282/.361/.411 slash line in 492 career games. Hoerner is a .282/.340/.384 slash line and most of his value comes from his glove at second base.

There's no wrong direction for the Giants to go if they are able to get either Hoerner or Donovan.

Given how pitcher-friendly Oracle Park is, Donovan might be more valuable to the Giants specifically because his batted-ball profile might cut through the environment.

San Francisco had the fourth-lowest fWAR from second base in 2025 that either Hoerner or Donovan would be a massive upgrade for the franchise. The Giants need to make a big swing if they hope to keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, so their trade interest makes all the sense in the world with spring training approaching in February.