Giants closer Will Smith catches Cardinals’ eye; Nick Hundley’s future murky
LAS VEGAS — As Day 2 of the winter meetings dawned, a trade idea emerged that would make some sense for the Giants.
Derrick Gould and Mark Saxon, two longtime Cardinals beat writers, reported St. Louis needs a back-end left-handed reliever and really likes Giants closer Will Smith. The dangle is first baseman and outfielder Jose Martinez, who is 30 but still has four years of team control.
Martinez can hit. His OPS in his two seasons with the Cardinals was a healthy .897 in 2017 and .821 last season. He batted over .300 both years and is right-handed.
There is no evidence that the teams have discussed such a deal at length. It might be more of a wish for the Cardinals, who are trying to turn Martinez into left-handed relief.