Pirates Trade Brad Lincoln For Travis Snider

For all of my viewers out there that have been checking into the blog the past few days and have seen no updates and wonder whats going on, let me first say I'm sorry. I've been on vacation as of late and I still am so I haven't had time to really write anything about the team, but I do have some time on my hands tonight so I'm going to try to write an individual post on each trade the Pirates since late last night.

The first trade I will talk about is the one that the Pirates made last night for outfielder Travis Snider from the Toronto Blue Jays. If you asked me I would say that this is the premier trade that the Pirates made at the deadline aside from when they acquired Wandy Rodriguez from Houston. Snider was a first round pick by the Jays back in 2006 and has had both his ups and downs in his career spending time in the majors every year since 2008 but never playing more then 82 games at that level weather it was due to injury or just frankly not being good enough.

Snider has never put up great numbers but has really been starting to get the hang of it lately, he will most likely be the starting right fielder for some time to come, and he happens to only be slightly older then the recently recalled Starling Marte. He has a ton of time to improve. The Pirates also have control of him for the next four years and most likely he will play for the league minimum next year because he is not eligible for arbitration until the end of the 2013 season so not only is he an improvement but he is cheap. Snider is by far a huge improvement from what the Pirates had in the outfield earlier this year i.e. Jose Tabata and Alex Presley, not that the bar was set to high to begin with.

To get talent you have to trade talent and that's what the Pirates had to do by giving away Brad Lincoln. I myself am not to disappointed about the fact that we had to move Lincoln because I do not even think that he will be more then a very good reliever or number four starter in the big leagues, both of which are not that hard to find. Bullpens are easy to piece together because well there a bunch of guys who can throw 96 for one inning and have decent second pitches, but there aren't a ton of guys who hit left handed play the outfield have good pop to their bat like Snider does. Last night Kevin Goldstein made a very good point when he said that basically Snider is the hitting version of Brad Lincoln, both were first round picks in 06, both had their struggles but now are starting to click, so if you ask me I would rather have a outfielder who is starting to click instead of a bullpen arm who is starting to click so I say this was one of the better and sneakier moves from the whole deadline, not just moves the Pirates made.

What We've All Been Waiting For Starling Marte

Just one day after the Pirates announced the trade for Wandy Rodriguez from the Astros they tell us officially that arguably the best hitting prospect in their entire system with Starling Marte,will join the club for the Thursday night in Houston. To make room for Marte on the roster the Pirates will option the recently recalled Evan Meek to Indianapolis.

There have been a ton, and I mean a ton of people screaming for Marte in the past week or so especially with lack of production the Pirates have been getting recently from both the corner-outfield and lead-off position. That being said there is no guarantee Marte is going to start his career in the lead-off spot, if I had to guess I would say he hits fifth tomorrow, but just a guess.

Neil Huntington has consistently said that they were going to do their best to not rush Marte to the majors just to help a team that is in contention and I still think that even with this call up that those statements remain true. I believe that Huntington honestly thinks that Marte is ready to be an impact player on a contending team and I also thinks that he still wishes he could get Marte another 100 at bats or so before making this jump but the situation just demanded the call up. I am with Huntington in that no matter what the Pirates did with Marte was not the wrong move. If the Pirates left Marte in AAA and tried to continue his development there for the rest of the year I would of been completely fine with that move since it seems that the Pirates made the mistake of calling up some other players too soon such as Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez, and even Alex Presley. But that being said I do not one bit think it is the wrong move to call up Marte to play everyday in a Pirates uniform for the next six and a half years either, especially since the team is currently in a pennant race and they need all the help they can get.

This is an exciting time for Pirates baseball, I think that it is very possible starting tomorrow that for the next six years the Pirates could be 100% locked up at two of the starting outfield positions, I don't think I have to tell you who those two are. Marte is still a question mark though, he could be called up and make a huge immediate impact on this team or he could do nothing at all, we still don't know. But none the less I can't wait to see the line-up card for tomorrow in Houston, I think its going to be an exciting one to say the least.

Looking Into AAA Indianapolis Hitters

The Pirates are 54-41 on the season, 13 games over .500 and just a game and a half out of the division lead but even with the great year they are having they aren't even the best team in their own organization. The team's AAA affiliate located in Indianapolis has put in a record of 65-40 and is a convincing nine and a half games up in their division, clinching the organizations title for best record so far this season. Record isn't necessarily what you look at when you are looking at the minor leagues, you look more at the individuals on those teams who could eventually make an impact at the major league level, so I thought it would be a good idea to go through some of those individuals and give you a good idea of what to expect just a year or two down the line.

Jeff Clement- One of the most surprising performances in the whole Pirates minor league system so far this year came from the former Mariners first round pick Jeff Clement. Clement has spent nearly all of his time at the first base position this year, and putting up some really impressive numbers too. Clement has put up .293/.352/.517 slash and has added thirteen home-runs to that mix as well. I wrote a post back in June about weather or not the Pirates should promote Clement you can read that by clicking here. I still think that Clement could be that left-handed first-baseman that the Pirates are trying to acquire, but they know their players better then I do.

Starling Marte- If you have been paying attention to the Pirates trade talk of late most people are either demanding for a trade or for this guy to come up. Marte had a crazy good spring training for the Pirates but was as expected sent to AAA to start his season. Marte has not been as good as hoped for so far with a .284/.347/.497 slash, 12 home-runs and 21 stolen bases so far this year.  One of Marte's higher numbers this year has been his strikeouts, posting a 90 in that category. Even with some of the disappointments around Marte I would not be surprised to see him called up at some point, even with Neil Huntington being clear that they will not rush his development like they had done with others in the past.

Brandon Boggs- Boggs has been the Indians everyday left-fielder and has had a very solid season. Boggs .263/.362/.422, is the one time draftee of the Rangers and has spent time in the majors both in Texas and Milwaukee. Boggs is twenty-nine years old so his best year's aren't exactly ahead of him, but he could be called up for a game or two if the Pirates have a real need.

Anderson Hernandez- Hernandez has spent most of his time at second base, which is a tough spot to be in since the Pirates seem to be pretty set at that position in the majors but he has had a solid season none the less. Hernandez has virtually no power one going yard one time this season, but he does have a .274 avg and only 39 strikeouts so there's that.

Tony Sanchez- As you probably know Sanchez is the Catcher that the Pirates drafted fourth overall all the way back in 2009. Sanchez started his season in AA Altoona and was moved up to Indianapolis about a month and a half ago and has hit .233 with five home-runs. Sanchez has turned it on as of late hitting all five of his home-runs in the past week or two. The upside to Sanchez is that he plays excellent defense which can alone get you to the major leagues if you are good enough, so I like to think of Sanchez as bust proof. The Pirates look at Sanchez as a guy they want to be their starting catcher for a long time, so if I had to guess he will spend the rest and all of this next year in AAA before being placed on the opening day roster in 2014.

Chase d'Arnaud- Just a year ago it looked like the Pirates had some big plans for d'Arnaud when they called him up to play some SS for a competing team, but now he is looked at as not even a everyday starter in AAA. d'Arnaud has hit for just a .227/.316/.367 line this year and just 3 home-runs and 68 strikeouts in just 65 games. I really don't know where d'Arnaud is headed but it doesn't look good, I think Jordy Mercer will be the teams future SS instead of Barmes.

As you probably noticed there are not any pitchers on this list and that is because I wanted to strictly focus on hitters in this post, if you are interested in the pitchers in AAA check back in the next day or two because I am planing on writing a similar post focused strictly on the pitchers. The Pirates future looks bright, they have been building a strong minor league system for years now and it is starting to show on the major league level. Obviously not all of these guys mentioned above are going to have successful major league careers nor would anyone expect them to, but there is a good chance that a few of them could be playing a important role on the big club as soon as this year.

Pirates Acquire LHP Wandy Rodriguez from Astros

When there's rain there's rainbows and tonight is a perfect example of that as the Pirates suffer their second straight loss to the Cubs but acquire the strong LHP Wandy Rodriguez from the Astros. Tom Singer was the first one to break this story tonight on twitter but was latter officially confirmed by the Pirates at the conclusion of tonight's loss.

Rudy Owens, Robbie Grossman, and Colton Cain were the ones dealt to the Astros in this deal, which I think is a very good thing for the Pirates. Rudy Owens has had a very solid year thus far in AAA but has had his bad starts as well, with the stuff Owens has he will never be more then a number three starter, which is something the Pirates can afford to lose in their situation. Grossman has had a solid past month in AA for Altoona but was pretty bad before that putting up close to a .230 average in that time. That being said a lot of scouts like what Grossman has in his tool bag but I haven't heard anyone ever predict he will be an impact big league player, so not a crazy huge loss there. Colton Cain was the Pirates eighth round pick back in 2009 and made it all the way to A+ ball this year in Bradenton, throwing 75 innings with a 4.20 ERA to this point. I really don't look at Cain as much of a loss since I really don't think he will ever see time in the major leagues.

 The Pirates showed tonight that they are trying to go for it and are willing to make some fairly aggressive moves to do so. One of the other big things the Pirates got in this trade was some very good cash to pay for Wandy's contract which goes all the way through 2013 with an option for him to pitch for the Pirates in 2014. Reportedly the Astros will pay 2 million this year 4.5 next and 5.5 in 2014, meaning that the Pirates will only have to pay 17.5 million of his contract through 2014, a pretty good deal if you ask me. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates go out and try to acquire another bat and continue there pursuit for the postseason, or if they will stand pat and go with what they have. None the less this whole year just got a little more exciting, I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Sweeping Is A Luxury

Sweeps look cool on paper, they bring fans to the ballpark, they get you attention on Baseball Tonight but that's just about all they do. Sweeps don't win championship, pennant's or divisions, but just winning two out of three do and that's what the Pirates did tonight. If the Pirates win two out of three every series the rest of the season they will run away with the division, but they won't get the attention for winning six or seven straight but that doesn't matter because all that stuff's overrated.

Sweeps are like the three run home run, do they help? Yeah of course, but do you need them to win? Heck no. Obviously you want a sweep because they help there's no denying that but two of three is always the goal no matter who you're playing, any major leaguer would tell you that. People fall in love with the sweep they think you need them but you don't, the best teams can win without them.

Fortunelly for the Pirates they have a chance for a sweep tomorrow, which even I can agree is awesome but probably for a different reason then you do. When I look at the game tomorrow I look at it strictly as a bonus, no matter what happens we win. If the Pirates do end up winning tomorrow that's awesome, they exceeded expectations, but if they lose so what? The worst case scenario for tomorrow is that the Pirates lose but still gained a game on .500 over the last three games. Some people will look at the loss and say we lost a game on .500 which is technically true if you look at it on a one game scale, but if you look at the slightly bigger picture its still a huge win for the team.

Don't get me wrong a sweep tomorrow would be great but if it doesn't happen, the Pirates still took care of business. I will be sitting in the stands tomorrow waving my broom loud and proud just like everyone else, but just remember this a sweep is a luxury.

2012 Awesome Videos

As you all know its an off day so I was just sitting here on my computer messing around on YouTube watching what I think are some really awesome Pirate videos and then it hit me that it would be a great idea to put these all together and give you guys something to watch since there is in fact no game tonight. Here's the best of what I came up with.

Obviously these are not the only 2012 Pirate video out there these are just the top three in my opinion. If you go on YouTube and search for Pittsburgh Pirates 2012 you can find about twenty other quality videos to watch maybe even more with the success the team is having this year. Have fun.

Stephen Drew Rumors

Earlier today Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports reported that the Pirates among two other teams were interested in the Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew. This rumor is particularly interesting because, well he's a shortstop and the Pirates don't get much there offensively. I am not a particular fan of this move because honestly I think it just doesn't make much sense.

Stephen Drew has only played in six-teen games so far this year because of an ankle injury and only played in eighty-six games in 2011 because of injuries as well, so health is far but a guarantee with Drew. Even though it is a small sample size so far this year Drew has only hit for a .192/.246/.250 line, not very good at all, just about Barmes level. In 2011 he posted better numbers at the plate with a .252/.317/.396 line not bad at all for very good defensive shortstop.

The problem with Drew beside from the injuries are one that his price is a little high both market value and contract wise. Drew is only inked up for the rest of this year at a 7.75 million clip and has a 10 million club option for next year which most likely the Pirates would not grant. Drew would also probably demand some good prospects in return and I would honestly would only give away as much as one of the three AAA pitchers to get him because of his rental status and I don't think the D-Backs would accept that deal anyways.

In case you are one of the people who did want Drew I don't want to ruin your party but earlier today Buster Olney of ESPN reported that the Pirates and D-Backs have not even discussed the possibility of getting Drew. This doesn't mean that this still couldn't happen but it does decrease the chances, but the good thing for the Pirates Drew is not their trading option and with just about a week and half left before the deadline some other talks could be getting more serious.