3 trade partners that make the most sense for a potential Isiah Kiner-Falefa trade

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa is garnering trade interest, according to the lastest from MLB insider Bob Nightengale. And here's a good reason why, believe it or not.

He's putting up solid numbers while sporting adequate defense at shortstop. IKF is slashing .299/.345/.375 with a .321 wOBA, and 103 wRC+. He's never been a big power hitter and has just one home run in 198 plate appearances with a sub-.100 isolated slugging percentage; nor has he ever walked much with a 5.1% BB% this year. But he also has a strong 15.7% strikeout rate this year and is in the 92nd percentile for whiff rate.

IKF has +2 defensive runs saved at shortstop, albeit with -5 outs above average. But even if a team doesn't view him as a shortstop, he can play multiple infield positions. He has over 1,500 innings at the hot corner, where he has +24 DRS and +27 OAA. Kiner-Falefa also has experience at second base and put up +7 DRS and +1 OAA in 376 frames at the keystone last season for the Toronto Blue Jays and Pirates.

Kiner-Falefa is a free agent at the end of the year, but plenty of teams need an infielder who can get on base at a respectable rate and play solid defense at multiple positions, even if it's not a long-term commitment. But there are some teams that stand out with a bigger need than most and fit as better trade partners for the Pirates in a potential swap.

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals may be 8.5 games out of the AL Central, but they're just 1.5 out of a Wild Card spot and they could very much use an upgrade at second base. Royals' second basemen have combined to hit just .226/.266/.278 with a 48 wRC+ this year. They also haven't gotten good defense out of the position, with -3 DRS and -6 OAA.

Michael Massey has gotten the bulk of playing time at the keystone but has a paltry .479 OPS, .212 wOBA, and 25 wRC+. He ranks last in the league in all three statistics. Former Rookie of the Year winner and offseason acquisition Jonathan India has been better, but still not good, with a .654 OPS, .298 wOBA, and 86 wRC+. They've combined for -1.7 fWAR.

The Royals also have very little in the way of internal upgrades. Their best infield prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, is Yandel Ricardo, who is only their 11th-best prospect (and is just 18 years old). Javier Vaz is much closer to being MLB-ready, as he is currently at Double-A but has a sub-.600 OPS so far this season.

A team that is trying to compete can't be trotting out a player with a 25 wRC+ on the regular without having some sort of alternative. Massey currently holds the lowest single-season mark in Royals' history. IKF would be a huge upgrade. The difference between IKF and Massey is a 78% difference in wRC+ — or, the same difference between the league average (100) and Shohei Ohtani (178).

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are making the National League West interesting. It is currently a tight race between them, the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Giants and Padres just a single game out of the division. The middle infield, however, has not been one of their strong suits this season.

Tyler Fitzgerald has been the Giants' go-to second baseman. After a standout rookie campaign, Fitzgerald is now struggling badly, slashing .250/.306/.354 with a .294 wOBA and an 88 wRC+. While he has cut down on the strikeouts with a 26.5% strikeout rate (compared to over 30% last year), he still has a subpar 6.8% walk rate. His defense at second base also gets mixed reviews by defensive metrics. DRS paints him as an above-average glove at +4 runs saved, but OAA has him at -1.

Offseason signee Willy Adames definitely hasn't been what the Giants ordered. He's hitting .193/.281/.303 with a .264 wOBA and 68 wRC+. Despite hitting 24+ home runs in each of his previous four seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, Adames currently has just five dingers in 279 plate appearances. On top of that, he's logged -8 DRS and -1 OAA at shortstop.

IKF may not be a long-term answer to red flags currently in the Giants' infield, but he could help out. In a one-game deficit in the division, making even the slightest upgrade and turning to Kiner-Falefa instead of Fitzgerald could be all the difference. Plus, the Giants' system has plenty of outfield prospects, and they already have two potential long-term outfielders in MLB with Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee, making them even better fits for the Pirates in a potential trade.

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros can't ever seem to have a down year. They're currently playing above their pre-season PECOTA projections and are leading the AL West by a 2.5-game margin over the Seattle Mariners. That's without a healthy Yordan Alvarez or Jose Altuve playing to his typical standards.

Second base has been a real problem for the Astros, however. They decided to move Altuve to left field this season, and while he is still occasionally seeing time at the keystone, it has still left a wide-open position on the field. Their replacement was Brendan Rodgers, but he's only batting .189/.263/.283 with a .249 wOBA and 57 wRC+. There are some positives to Rodgers' game right now, as his .303 xwOBA indicates some bad luck. He is also setting career bests in walk rate (8.5%), exit velocity (90.6 MPH), and barrel percentage (16.1%). 

He's still a solid defender up the middle with +2 DRS and +1 OAA. However, most of these positives are overshadowed by a horrendous 38.1% strikeout percentage. He has essentially sacrificed all contact for power, as his whiff rate is up to 38.9% — compared to only 25.4% last season — and his bat speed is up from 71.7 MPH to 74 MPH. But overall, he's been a negative contributor in terms of fWAR.

Meanwhile, utility man Mauricio Dubon is providing solid defense but is having his worst season with the Astros yet when it comes to hitting with an OPS below .600 and wRC+ of just 68. Even moving Altuve back to second base full-time would still leave a hole in the Astros' lineup. With that poor production coming from the keystone, Kiner-Falefa would be the sort of upgrade the Astros could use.