POSTED BY ON NOVEMBER 7TH, 2011 AT 12:05 PM | CATEGORIZED AS UNCATEGORIZED

After years of trade rumors, the Giants dangled Jonathan Sanchez once again and finally landed help for their woebegotten lineup.

The club acquired outfielder Melky Cabrera from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league left-hander Ryan Verdugo and Sanchez, who will leave with a lasting place in franchise history.

Sanchez’s no-hitter on July 10, 2009, was the franchise’s first in 35 years. In 2010, he beat the San Diego Padres in game No. 162 to clinch the NL West and send the Giants on their way to a World Series title.

But Sanchez, who will be 29 in two weeks, was coming off an erratic, injury-filled season in which he posted the highest walk rate of his career. He would have made more than $5 million in arbitration.

Cabrera, 27, is likely to be the Giants’ everyday center fielder. He is coming off a career season in which he hit .305 with 44 doubles, five triples, 18 home runs and 87 RBIs. He finished eighth in the American League with 102 runs scored.

Cabrera will be a free agent after the 2012 season; he stands to earn a significant raise in arbitration from the $1.25 million he made after signing with the Royals as a free agent a year ago.

Cabrera spent most of last season as the Royals’ No. 2 hitter, but is likely to be used in a leadoff role with the Giants if Freddy Sanchez makes a full recovery from shoulder surgery. A switch-hitter, Cabrera batted over .300 from both sides of the plate last season. He played parts of five years with the Yankees before spending one season in Atlanta in 2010.

The acquisition of Cabrera addresses a major need for the Giants and seemingly takes them out of the market for free-agent center fielder Coco Crisp. It also would seem to indicate the Giants will not tender a contract to center fielder Andres Torres, who is eligible for arbitration. It’s possible the club could re-sign Torres to a lesser salary if he is amenable to a reduced role.

The Giants still need a shortstop but sources say they are strongly considering handing the job to Brandon Crawford if they feel they made enough improvements to the rest of the lineup.

The trade was first reported by Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.

I’ll keep updating this post as details as more information becomes available. I’m sure there will be a conference call with GM Brian Sabean later today.