Pirates should target this prospect in possible Isiah Kiner-Falefa trade with Giants

The Pittsburgh Pirates are among some of the clearest sellers ahead of the 2025 trade deadline. Their last-place standing, 14 games out of first place (the Reds, the National League Central's fourth place team, are just six games behind the first place Cubs), has other teams examining the roster for trade candidates.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa is one of Pittsburgh's best offerings. His contract expires at the end of this season, so he would be a true rental for any team in "win now" mode in need of middle infield depth.

Kiner-Falefa has been linked many times to the New York Yankees, his former team, as a potential trade candidate — they could use depth all over the infield and another right-handed bat or two. On June 22, MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today linked Kiner-Falefa to the Yankees again, but threw the San Francisco Giants into the mix, as well.

The Giants are an interesting choice for Kiner-Falefa's services. Over the winter, they signed shortstop Willy Adames to a monster seven-year, $182 million contract, to which he's struggled to live up to. Adames is hitting .208/.294/.347 with a .641 OPS, 11 doubles, a triple, nine homers and 33 RBI over 77 games. His defense has been solid, and he ranks in the 79th percentile with two outs above average, but his lower-quartile strikeout percentage won't help the Giants as they battle for a top spot in the highly competitive NL West.

MLB insider Bob Nightengale links Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa to Giants ahead of trade deadline

Kiner-Falefa's .276/.322/.351 slash line is a definite improvement over Adames' bat, but the latter still has a bit more home run power. Kiner-Falefa has just 13 extra-base hits through 67 games this season, but his far greater average could help San Francisco get a bit more lift from the bottom of its batting order.

That said ... IKF won't bring back a notable return from the Giants. He's an average player at best and would be a two-month rental. So what would an appropriate target for the Pirates be in trade talks?

Ben Cherington has not thrived when put in the position of trade deadline seller, but it's hard to royally screw up a deal involving a player of Kiner-Falefa's caliber. In short, the Pirates need offense in their farm system, and they could ask for the Giants' No. 29 prospect, Robert Hipwell. The 2024 sixth-round draft pick is a third baseman, which is a position occupied by Matt Chapman for the foreseeable future. Should anything happen to Chapman, it's quite possible Rafael Devers would be next in line to take over at the hot corner.

Even though Kiner-Falefa's bat has cooled off at an inopportune time, he never possessed a trade value high enough for it to plummet. The Pirates should jump at any opportunity to get a return, and Hipwell, who is having a solid year at Single-A during his first professional season, could be a fair price to pay for a playoff contender.

There are better infield options available for teams in the race, but Kiner-Falefa is a former Gold Glover with solid offensive stats and two rounds of playoff experience from his 2022 tenure with the Yankees.