This is exactly the kind of trade an organization like the Minnesota Twins has to make: Cash in on a veteran player having a career year and obtain a prospect who should be able to help in the future.

Eduardo Nunez, a career utility guy who had become the Twins' starting shortstop this season as much by default as anything, is hitting .296/.325/.439 with an AL-leading 27 steals and represented the Twins in the All-Star Game. He's under team control through 2017, but the Twins traded him to the San Francisco Giants for left-handed pitcher Adalberto Mejia, who has reached Triple-A and is No. 91 on Baseball America's midseason top 100 prospect list.

The Giants pick up a versatile infielder who also can play the outfield, although it appears they're finally close to getting healthy again. Second baseman Joe Panik returned to the lineup Thursday after missing a month with a concussion, Hunter Pence is rehabbing in Triple-A, and third baseman Matt Duffy is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment this weekend as he recovers from a strained Achilles tendon.

Nunez can play third base until Duffy returns and then settle into some sort of utility role, depending on whether Duffy reclaims his starting position -- not necessarily a guarantee since he was hitting .253/.313/.358 before his injury, well below his 2015 production.

Keep in mind, however, that Nunez has started regressing to his career norms. He was hitting .340 and slugging over .500 at the end of May, but has hit .264/.293/.387 since then, including .235 in July with a .264 OBP. Still, it's a worthwhile pickup for the Giants, the kind of veteran acquisition they love to make this time of year. (As colleague Mark Simon recently pointed out, those trades usually work out for the Giants.)

Mejia is a 23-year-old lefty who looks close to the majors, with a 2.81 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A and owning a 101/27 strikeout/walk ratio in 105 innings. He usually works in the low 90s with his fastball and features a solid slider and changeup and occasional curveball. He missed time in 2015 with shoulder tendinitis and a 50-game ban for stimulants, and will have to watch his weight, but should see time down the stretch for the Twins -- especially if they end up trading away starter Ervin Santana. Some project Mejia as a middle reliever, but the numbers suggest he has a chance to work as a back-of-the-rotation starter. That's a worthwhile pickup for Nunez.

The Giants still will probably look to add bullpen help, as they rank 18th in the majors in bullpen ERA. But their biggest help will simply be in getting healthy again. Heading into Thursday's game against the Nationals, they were scuffling along at 2-9 since the All-Star break, averaging just 3.45 runs per game.