ORLANDO, Fla. – The San Francisco Giants, a team with an obvious hole in center field, are engaged in serious discussions to acquire speedster Billy Hamilton from the Cincinnati Reds, a source confirmed to The Enquirer. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the level of the Giants' interest, although the two parties have been connected throughout the offseason.

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The source said that talks are advanced enough that something could be completed before the Winter Meetings end Thursday at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. However, the source said that's no guarantee a deal is ultimately struck.

The Giants are not alone in their interest in Hamilton, who has yet to establish himself as a hitter but is a difference-maker in the field and on the bases. The Texas Rangers are also a suitor, among other teams, the source said.

"There are several teams that have a high level of interest in Billy," the source said.

However, in his daily meeting with the media, Reds general manager Dick Williams downplayed the seriousness of the discussions.

“We’ve heard from a bunch of teams on a bunch of players, including Billy," Williams said. "It’s just at this point teams expressing interest and chatter. That’s about it.”

Hamilton has two years of team control remaining and is projected to earn about $5 million next year in his second year of arbitration eligibility. He is one of the most talented defensive players in the game – he has been a Gold Glove finalist each of the last four seasons – but has hit just .248 with a .298 on-base percentage as a major-leaguer.

If the Reds were to trade him, they would prefer to sign a stopgap center fielder rather than use Scott Schebler there full-time, as Rosenthal has previously reported. Williams did say he feels Schebler can play center, but expressed a hesitancy to use him there for a full season if Hamilton were unavailable.

"I’m not sure I’d feel really comfortable counting on him to be an everyday center fielder for the full season," Williams said. "But I think he’s athletic enough to play it and I think he could do it if he put his mind to it and we worked with him.”

One motivation for a trade could be to get Jesse Winker a full serving of plate appearances in 2018, although moving Hamilton might not do much to accomplish that. The Reds have also received interest in left fielder Adam Duvall, a trade of whom would unclog that jam.

Still, the Reds publicly maintain that four is not a crowd, citing the benefit of having more regular rest and more dangerous options off the bench.

"It’s doable," said Reds manager Bryan Price. "It’s taking that 2,100-plus plate appearances and dividing it amongst four as opposed to three."

It's unclear what the Reds would seek in return from the Giants, except that they would not ask for major-league assets. San Francisco has one of the barer farm systems in the game, although they do have notable prospects in outfielder/first baseman Chris Shaw, right-hander Tyler Beede and outfielder Heliot Ramos.