SF Giants sign former Dbacks shortstop, two-time Gold Glove award winner

The SF Giants signed longtime Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed to a minor-league contract on Monday.

Marc Delucchi | Feb 26, 2024

SF Giants sign former Dbacks shortstop, two-time Gold Glove award winner /

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The SF Giants announced that the team has signed shortstop Nick Ahmed to a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to MLB spring training on Monday. Ahmed, the longtime shortstop for the Arizona Diamondbacks, immediately gives the Giants some much-needed veteran insurance at shortstop behind a bevy of young players at the position, including the current favorite to be the everyday option, Marco Luciano (Top 4 Prospect).

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed hits an RBI single against the SF Giants. (2021) — Dbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed hits an RBI single against the SF Giants. (2021) / John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Despite a long track record of big-league success, and a relatively thin free-agent class at shortstop, Ahmed is coming off the worst season of his career in 2023. The veteran hit an abysmal .212/.257/.303 with 10 doubles, a triple, and two home runs in 210 plate appearances with Arizona before he was designated for assignment. Ahmed has always been a below-average hitter (career .664 OPS), but his production has taken another step back over the past three seasons.

While he was drafted by Atlanta back in 2011, Ahmed has spent his entire 10-year MLB career in Arizona with the Dbacks. For most of the past decade, Ahmed has been the Dbacks everyday shortstop, providing excellent defense to make up for his quiet bat. In fact, Ahmed's defense earned him back-to-back Gold Glove award victories in 2018 and 2019.

He may not be the player he was during the prime of his career, but Ahmed still offers plenty of defensive value at shortstop. Given many scouts longstanding concerns about Luciano's viability at the position, adding a player with such an impressive defensive track record was an obvious fit with San Francisco. Even with his offensive struggles last season, Ahmed still graded out as an elite defensive shortstop, according to Statcast's Outs Above Average.

It's worth noting that Ahmed's offensive struggles in 2023 came after undergoing shoulder surgery in 2022, when he was limited to just 17 games. The fact that he remained an above-average defender following surgery leaves some room to hope that his bat could rebound another year removed from the operation.

Adding Nick Ahmed to the mix seems to further solidify that Brandon Crawford will not be returning to the SF Giants. The longtime shortstop remains a free agent and could have filled a comparable role on the team. However, San Francisco has decided to move in a different direction, adding another NL West stalwart with multiple Gold Gloves.

Published Feb 26, 2024

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).