SF Giants Sign 2-Time Gold Glover

The San Francisco Giants hope that they have filled a key role at shortstop, by adding a longtime Division rival in two-time Gold Glover Nick Ahmed.

The Giants signed veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed to a minor league contract with an invite to big league camp. He won a couple of Gold Gloves with Diamondbacks in 2018-19.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) February 26, 2024

It's a minor league deal for Ahmed, and he'll compete at spring training, as a non-roster invitee. Giants top four prospect Marco Luciano is the man they would like to see win the job, but the backup depth from there was lacking before this singing. Casey Schmitt and Tyler Fitzgerald are the other shortstops in camp. Ahmed's10 years of experience with a strong defensive resume could come in handy behind Luciano.

Ahmed is still just 33 years old and had a long and productive career— at least in the field —with the D-Backs. He is Arizona's all-time leader in dWAR (12.4), 5th in games played (888), 8th in at-bats (2897), and doubles (154), and 11th in hits (678).

He won the gold glove at shortstop in 2018 and 2019,  and ironically ended the three-year Gold Glove run of former Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford (he would go on to win a fourth in 2021). At the plate, Ahmed is not much of a threat. He batted a paltry .212 last season with a .560 OPS and an equally woeful OPS+ of just 53. Over the course of his career, he’s a .234 hitter with an OPS+ of 75.

 To be clear, the Giants tried to trade for more of an impact shortstop earlier in the offseason but didn't find a match.

 The longtime Giant shortstop, Crawford, has today decided to join the St. Louis Cardinals, leaving the keystone in San Francisco in new hands for the first time in 14 years.

Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK