Pirates Make Two Trades
July 1st 2009 02:52
In the first trade between the Nationals and the Pirates, the Nationals received OF Nyjer Morgan, who is too old to have an upside and is really only a fourth outfielder for a good team. They also received Sean Burnett, who is having a solid year from the bullpen. The Pirates acquired "prospect" Lastings Milledge and his superstar potential. Milledge was the best young talent in the Nationals organization. The Pirates would have won this trade just with the acquisition of Milledge; however, they also managed to pick up reliever Joel Hanrahan, a guy with great peripheral stats this year, but unfortunately has a high ERA because of a very low 57% of balls in play being turned into outs. If the Pirates defense can turn a more normal 70% of balls into outs, then Hanrahan can be a valuable player from the bullpen. The Pirates are the clear winners in this trade.
As for the Pirates-Yankees trade, Pittsburgh no longer had a use for Hinske in the lineup. He will help to replace Xavier Nady in the Yankees lineup, who will miss the rest of the year for the Yankees after having Tommy John Surgery. Pitcher Casey Erickson has shown impressive strikeout potential in the minors and has a favorable scouting report. He could be a solid reliever for the Pirates. Eric Fryer has the potential to be a solid major-league outfielder, but there are quite a few obstacles to an outfield spot for the Pirates. He can also play catcher. This seemed to fill needs for both teams involved.
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