San Francisco is 2,100 miles away from Chicago, but Mike Fontenot didn't have to go far at all when the Giants acquired him today. The Cubs are in San Francisco, so all Fontenot had to do was walk from the visitors clubhouse to the home clubhouse. The Cubs obtain minor league center fielder Evan Crawford in the deal.
Fontenot has a .284/.332/.402 line in 185 plate appearances this year. Edgar Renteria is going on the disabled list, so Fontenot restores San Francisco's infield depth. The 30-year-old has played second, third and short.
The Giants control Fontenot's rights through 2013. He makes $1MM this year as a super two player and will go to arbitration for the second time this winter. The deal shows that every NL team with a worse record than the Giants let Fontenot through waivers. For more on trading in August, click here.
Crawford, who turned 22 last week, is hitting .255/.319/.366 in A ball. The 2009 draftee has 24 steals in 33 attempts.
Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea reported (on Twitter) that a trade was in the works, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported more specifics on the deal (on Twitter) and Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reported the specific players (Twitter links). The Cubs and Giants have since confirmed the deal.