Giants acquire Scutaro from Rockies

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SAN FRANCISCOThe Giants added infield depth and a seasoned right-handed contact man for their bench, acquiring Marco Scutaro from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Triple-A second baseman Charlie Culberson.

The Rockies are sending cash to offset at least a portion of the roughly 2.5 million owed to Scutaro, who will be a free agent after this season.

The Giants were light on right-handed hitters who have experience off the bench; theyre getting an old hand in Scutaro, 36, who was hitting .271 with a .324 on-base percentage along with four home runs in 411 plate appearances.

Its worth pointing out that Scutaro was hitting just .238 with a weak .292 slugging percentage away from Coors this year.

I understand its a business, Scutaro told the Denver Post. Now I have an opportunity for a team that has a chance to make the playoffs."

Giants manager Bruce Bochys club had little depth behind second baseman Ryan Theriot aside from light-hitting Emmanuel Burriss, whose place on the roster is far from safe in the wake of this trade.

Scutaro is best known in the Bay Area for being the As starting shortstop for most of his tenure with the club from 2004-07. Hes also played for the Mets, Blue Jays and Red Sox.

Culberson, 23, made his major league debut earlier this season and was sent back after hitting .136 in six games. He was hitting .236 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs in 90 games for Triple-A Fresno. A Rockies scout told me that he likes Culberson and wrote him up as a solid big league contributor.

Culberson was a sandwich-round pick (51st overall) in the 2007 draft.

The Scutaro trade is probably what held up the Giants from activating Aubrey Huff from the disabled list prior to Fridays game. The club could be poised to make several roster moves in the coming hours.

Keep checking CSNBayArea.com for the latest.

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