This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
New Hall of Famer Jeff Kent was involved in three trades over his 17-year career in the Majors, including a blockbuster deal that sent him from Cleveland to San Francisco in exchange for star third baseman Matt Williams in November 1996.
The move to the Giants proved to be a key turning point for Kent, who blossomed into one of the best offensive second basemen in big league history during his six seasons with the Orange and Black.
Thirty years later, another Kent will have a chance to continue his rise in San Francisco.
In the final minutes leading up to the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, Kent found out that his son, Kaeden Kent, had been dealt from the Yankees to the Giants as part of the return for outfielder Heliot Ramos, creating a bit of a full-circle moment for the family.
Kent shared how he learned about the news during a recent episode of the “The Road to Cooperstown” podcast.
“In this day and age, you find out through social media before you find out from the organization if you're being traded or not,” Kent told host Jon Paul Morosi.
“I was on the phone doing something -- I can't remember what it was -- and I get a blip on my phone that says Kaeden’s being traded to the Giants. I went, ‘What the hell is this?’ I was on the phone with somebody, and I showed my wife. My wife went in the other room to go look it up, and she says, ‘We think it is, but it hasn't been confirmed yet.’ I had to cancel my call with my business partner. I looked it up, and it still hasn't been confirmed. But there's two players named for Ramos, and I'm thinking, ‘It's happening.’ I go, ‘You’ve got to be freaking kidding me!’ I was blown.”
Kent said he and his wife soon heard from Kaeden, who eventually called to confirm that he was indeed heading to the Giants. Kent admitted that he still has mixed feelings about watching his son land with his former team, as he feels it might create more expectations for Kaeden as he tries to chart his own path to San Francisco.
“It's bittersweet in that we know the Giants, the organization is awesome,” Kent said. “We just got done having a lovefest party with them in Cooperstown. They’re such good people, the front office, the organization. [President of baseball operations Buster] Posey wasn't there, but all of those people we know really well. So to have our kid go there, we're going, ‘Oh, this is awesome. He's going to a place where he's going to be loved.’
"But then you're thinking on the other side, the professional side, which is, ‘Wait a minute. He's now got to walk the same dirt that I did and deal with the same media that I did and the last name.’ And I kind of don't know if I'm on board with that. Because I don't want to live through my son, and I don't want my son to have to live through me. I'm torn.”
A third-round Draft pick of the Yankees out of Texas A&M in 2025, Kaeden is now ranked the Giants’ No. 20 prospect per MLB Pipeline. The 22-year-old shortstop was assigned to High-A Eugene following the trade, though he hasn’t played since July 5 due to an injury. The setback interrupted a promising season for Kaeden, who was batting .302 with a .792 OPS, six home runs, 43 RBIs and 20 stolen bases over 76 games for High-A Hudson Valley this year.
COMPLETE GIANTS PROSPECT COVERAGE
While Kent has yet to fully come to terms with the trade, he believes Kaeden will be in good hands with the Giants, who boast a deep farm system that’s teeming with other rising infield prospects like Josuar Gonzalez, Luis Hernández, Jhonny Level and Gavin Kilen.
“Posey's a good dude,” Kent said. “He's trying to build the program up. I see it. I've talked about it. I was there in Spring Training. I've seen the kids. Now I'm thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, my son's got to deal with [being a] Kent in San Francisco. How's that going to go down?’ I don't know. Ask me in another month at the end of the season and then ask me in Spring Training, and I'll probably give you a better answer. But as you can tell, I'm still pulling my hair out.”
Kent will be back in the spotlight on Saturday, when he’ll have his No. 21 retired by the Giants before Game 2 of the club's doubleheader against the D-backs at Oracle Park. There will be a special giveaway to commemorate the event, with the first 21,000 fans receiving a custom National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee replica ring.