faba Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Pirates shuffle outfield in pair of deals Comment Email Print Share Associated Press PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates, swapping outfielders at a rapid rate for the second successive season, sent starting left fielder Nyjer Morgan to the Washington Nationals in a four-player deal involving outfielder Lastings Milledge and also shipped backup Eric Hinske to the Yankees on Tuesday. The Pirates, who have pushed to restock a thin farm system by making numerous trades over the last year, get Milledge and reliever Joel Hanrahan from the Nationals for the fleet Morgan and left-hander Sean Burnett, a former first-round draft pick. Hanrahan Earlier, they sent 2002 AL Rookie of the Year Hinske to the Yankees for minor league right-hander Casey Erickson and outfielder Eric Fryer. Just as they did last season by dealing Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, the Pirates have traded two of their three starting outfielders before Aug. 1. They sent former NL All-Star center fielder Nate McLouth to the Braves on June 4 for pitcher Charlie Morton and two other prospects. Though rumored for several days, the Nationals trade is somewhat surprising because the Pirates dealt Morgan -- who turns 28 on Thursday -- less than halfway through a promising first season as a starter. He is hitting .277 with 2 homers and 27 RBIs, only four fewer than No. 3 hitter Freddy Sanchez, and has 18 steals, although he has been thrown out 10 times. Milledge, a former top Mets prospect, has played in only seven games with Washington while part of the season rehabilitating a broken right ring finger that required surgery in May. He is expected to join Triple-A Indianapolis before being called up by Pittsburgh later this month. Milledge, 23, has more power than Morgan -- he has 25 homers in 897 career at-bats -- but has bothered frequently by injury problems that include a broken right hand, sore foot and groin strain. He hit .268 with 14 homers, 61 RBIs and 24 doubles in 138 games last season, earning him a spot on the cover of the Nationals' media guide this season. Still, Milledge was a major disappointment to the Nationals, who dealt two starters -- catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church -- to acquire Milledge from the Mets in November 2007. The right-handed Hanrahan, 27, is 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in 34 games -- he was demoted from the closer's job -- and has a 5.30 ERA in 115 career games. Burnett, the Pirates' top pick in 2000, is 1-2 with a 3.06 ERA in 38 games and has pitched in 96 games the last two seasons. The 31-year-old Hinske hit .255 in 106 at-bats this season with nine doubles, one homer and 11 RBIs, playing right field, first base and third base. He was 8 for 24 as a pinch hitter and has been disappointed by a lack of playing time. Through June 29 last year, he had 13 home runs en route to a 20-home run season with the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays. He won the rookie award with Toronto in 2002, when he hit .279 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs, and was a member of Boston's World Series championship team in 2007. "He's a pro. He's been through the trenches in the AL East," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "There's a lot of benefits to him. He knows his role." The 23-year-old Erickson was 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts and 18 relief appearances at Class A Charleston this season. Fryer, also 23, hit .250 with 11 doubles, two homers, 24 RBIs and 11 steals for Class A Tampa after leading the South Atlantic League with a .335 average last year for West Virginia. He was obtained by the Yankees in February for left-hander Chase Wright. To fill Hinske's roster spot, Pittsburgh purchased the contract of 28-year-old outfielder Garrett Jones from Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit .307 with 18 doubles, 12 homers, 48 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharrow Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Meh, not much of an impact here unless Milledge breaks out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeC36 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 once a highly touted prospect now hes not good enough to play on the worst team in baseball. just another kid that couldnt live up to the hype Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borgoguy Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 once a highly touted prospect now hes not good enough to play on the worst team in baseball. just another kid that couldnt live up to the hype +1 The New York media machine is a cruel kiss of death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arsis Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 And another trade that makes no sense by the Pirates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenranger Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 I'm glad that the nats dumped him. He had the worst attitude and none of the skills to back it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyHector Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 And another trade that makes no sense by the Pirates. Huh? The Pirates definitely got the better end of this deal. Hanrahan has way more upside than Sean Burnett, and the same can be said when comparing 24-year old Milledge to a 29-year old singles hitter in Morgan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenranger Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Huh? The Pirates definitely got the better end of this deal. Hanrahan has way more upside than Sean Burnett, and the same can be said when comparing 24-year old Milledge to a 29-year old singles hitter in Morgan. Joel Hanrahan was bad. He couldn't pitch. He blew 5 saves in 10 chances this year, was demoted from the closer role twice, and had a 7.71 ERA, all by June 30th. And Milledge is no where near major league ready. He needs another two or three years at least in the minors to get better at hitting, fielding and to lose that arrogant attitude of his. Now Morgan is Major league ready, has a good attitude, and has been having a good season so far, both at the plate (.277 BA) and in the field (only 1 error), and the nats need another outfielder because Dunn is nothing more then a glorified DH, Kearns couldn't hit the water if he fell out of a boat (although i've seen hit hit the outfield wall pretty well a few times), and Dukes, although improving, is still struggling at both the plate and in the outfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 The Pirates continue to make terrible trades- Morgan gave them energy and speed as leadoff hitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Jet Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Meh, not much of an impact here unless Milledge breaks out. He's shown no reason that will ever happen. IMO he's a head case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenranger Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 He's shown no reason that will ever happen. IMO he's a head case. That's what always made me mad about him. Since he went to washington he had that attitude that he was the team when in reality he held them down with his many defensive problems. The attitude was half of the reason Manny had him sent down to AAA. He may have led the team in RBI's last year, but he cost them more games by dropping simple fly balls and not being able to play balls off the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyHector Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Joel Hanrahan was bad. He couldn't pitch. He blew 5 saves in 10 chances this year, was demoted from the closer role twice, and had a 7.71 ERA, all by June 30th. And Milledge is no where near major league ready. He needs another two or three years at least in the minors to get better at hitting, fielding and to lose that arrogant attitude of his. Now Morgan is Major league ready, has a good attitude, and has been having a good season so far, both at the plate (.277 BA) and in the field (only 1 error), and the nats need another outfielder because Dunn is nothing more then a glorified DH, Kearns couldn't hit the water if he fell out of a boat (although i've seen hit hit the outfield wall pretty well a few times), and Dukes, although improving, is still struggling at both the plate and in the outfield. Hanrahan might not have performed well this season, but his peripherals are still better than Burnett's across the board: K/9 Hanrahan - 2008 - 9.9, 2009 - 9.6 Burnett - 2008 - 6.7, 2009 - 6.4 BB/9 Hanrahan - 2008 - 4.5, 2009 - 3.9 Burnett - 2008 - 5.4, 2009 - 4.2 HR/9 Hanrahan - 2008 - 1.0, 2009 - 0.8 Burnett - 2008 - 1.1, 2009 - 0.8 If you want to see the difference in their results from last season, look at their BABIP numbers this season and compare them to last year (albeit, not a huge sample space): 2008 Hanrahan - .295 Burnett - .305 2009 Hanrahan - .431 Burnett - .224 Now consider that the league average is around .296, I would expect both pitchers to eventually regress toward the mean. You can also factor in that Hanrahan participated in (and appeared in the most games during) the WBC. Hanrahan has the potential to be a good setup man, whereas Burnett is a situational lefty, and an average one at best IMO. Moving onto the hitters, while Morgan might be "major league ready", it's as a 4th or 5th OFer. He's a guy with a lot of speed and a good glove, but he has almost no gap power and turns 29 tomorrow. This is as good a player as he's ever going to be... what good is he doing the worst team in baseball, especially when they had buried (in AAA) and just traded an excellent defensive OFer, who at least has some life in his bat, in Ryan Langerhans? The Pirates have a similar player to Morgan in their system in Gorky Hernandez, so it's not like they can't replace Morgan's limited abilities down the road, when they hope to be competitive. Milledge might be a headcase, but he's still only 24 and has way more tools and upside than Morgan. When you're looking at a trade between two bad teams that are not ready to compete, the winner is the team that got the younger players with more upside, which in this case, was the Pirates (by a good margin IMO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharrow Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 The Pirates continue to make terrible trades- Morgan gave them energy and speed as leadoff hitter. McCutchen is the new leadoff hitter, they don't need two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharrow Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 2008 Burnett isn't the same as 2009 Burnett. He's been very good so far this year now that he's fully transitioned to the bullpen and actually had a good pitching coach. Morgan is a decent CF for a team in a big ballpark. His discipline has gotten a little better this year, so he's an average leadoff hitter.I didn't really get why they traded for Gorkys Hernandez considering they already had Morgan. I understand we need a LF with some range in Pittsburgh, but how about some pop to go along with it? I loved Nyjer's intangibles, but he's only had like 13 extra base hits this year, which doesn't cut it for a corner outfielder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenranger Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 This team needs bullpen pitching and now. Hanrahan is almost 28, he isn't going to get much better. Burnett is only 26, and has shown much improvement in the bullpen since last season. I believe that he will come in and help right away and become their #1 reliever. As for Milledge, I don't believe than he will develop into what everyone thought he would a few years ago because he is too full of himself and when he dosen't get his way he throws a tantrum like a child and dosen't play. Morgan can hit, he may not be a power hitter, but he can get the hits and drive the runs in, which is what they need, in addition to his defensive skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyHector Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 This team needs bullpen pitching and now. Hanrahan is almost 28, he isn't going to get much better. Burnett is only 26, and has shown much improvement in the bullpen since last season. I believe that he will come in and help right away and become their #1 reliever. Burnett is closer to turning 27 than Hanrahan is to turning 28... they are 11 months apart in age, which makes that point moot. If you read my earlier post, much of Burnett's (perceived) improvement this season has been due to luck. His BABIP, which was right around the league average, dropped over 80 points, while his peripherals (K/9, BB/9, HR/9) didn't change drastically (though he did improve his control). Hanrahan's BABIP is an absurd .451, over 150 points from both his numbers last year and the league average. His peripherals haven't changed much, so either the balls that are getting hit are all meatballs, the defense behind him has been poor (something you alluded to earlier), he has been extremely unlucky, or a combination of the 3 (which is most likely). Hanrahan has the ability to be a hard-throwing fastball/slider closer or setup man, a role far more important than a LOOGY like Burnett. As for Milledge, I don't believe than he will develop into what everyone thought he would a few years ago because he is too full of himself and when he dosen't get his way he throws a tantrum like a child and dosen't play. Morgan can hit, he may not be a power hitter, but he can get the hits and drive the runs in, which is what they need, in addition to his defensive skills. Morgan can not, in fact, hit, as he has zero gap power. His only assets are his glove and his speed (though he leads the NL in caught stealing), both of which are likely to tail off in the not-too-distant future, as he's already 29 years old. Milledge might be immature, but he's still only 24, and while he might never be the player he was predicted to be, his talent and upside far exceed those of a dime-a-dozen player like Morgan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PS17 Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Way to get rid of two thirds of your good, young outfield Pittsburgh. Good going! Bay, Nady, McLouth, Morgan, Marte, etc. They should fold as an organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyHector Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Way to get rid of two thirds of your good, young outfield Pittsburgh. Good going! Bay, Nady, McLouth, Morgan, Marte, etc. They should fold as an organization. Your post is completely misguided. This is an organization with some quality prospects in their system (McCutchen, Alvarez) that is trying to add pieces that will help them 3 years from now. They weren't going to be able to re-sign Bay after this season, so they moved him for a package of OK prospects, including their starting 3B, Andy LaRoche. Nady, another player they wouldn't have extended past this season, was moved (along with Marte) for a package of players, including a couple of back-of-the-rotation starters (Ohlendorf, Karstens), and Jose Tabata, who was ranked #75 in the Baseball America Top 100. I've given my opinion on Morgan a couple of times in this thread, so it's obvious I don't think much of him as a starting OF. As far as McLouth, it's the least defensible of the trades given that he had just signed this offseason, but in reality, he's a better fantasy player than an actual baseball player. The Pirates did get back Gorkys Hernandez, who is a similar player to Morgan, with a little more upside (#62 in BA 2009), and he's only 21-years old. I think they are at least moving in the right direction finally... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenranger Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Your post is completely misguided. This is an organization with some quality prospects in their system (McCutchen, Alvarez) that is trying to add pieces that will help them 3 years from now. They weren't going to be able to re-sign Bay after this season, so they moved him for a package of OK prospects, including their starting 3B, Andy LaRoche. Nady, another player they wouldn't have extended past this season, was moved (along with Marte) for a package of players, including a couple of back-of-the-rotation starters (Ohlendorf, Karstens), and Jose Tabata, who was ranked #75 in the Baseball America Top 100. I've given my opinion on Morgan a couple of times in this thread, so it's obvious I don't think much of him as a starting OF. As far as McLouth, it's the least defensible of the trades given that he had just signed this offseason, but in reality, he's a better fantasy player than an actual baseball player. The Pirates did get back Gorkys Hernandez, who is a similar player to Morgan, with a little more upside (#62 in BA 2009), and he's only 21-years old. I think they are at least moving in the right direction finally... How will they help them. Once they come up there just going to trade them for some more prospects and we will be having the same debate all over again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyHector Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 How will they help them. Once they come up there just going to trade them for some more prospects and we will be having the same debate all over again Well, I guess you're right... they would just be better off hanging onto JAG's like Nyjer Morgan and a LOOGY in Sean Burnett than trying to improve their team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenranger Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 Well, I guess you're right... they would just be better off hanging onto JAG's like Nyjer Morgan and a LOOGY in Sean Burnett than trying to improve their team. They always do it. They don't want to pay anyone and they trade there best players for more minor leaguers. It is a cycle that they doomed to repeat over and over again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted July 2, 2009 Author Share Posted July 2, 2009 Pirates are going to set a record for most under 500 seasons in a row I think this year - terrible what they have done to that franchise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyHector Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 They always do it. They don't want to pay anyone and they trade there best players for more minor leaguers. It is a cycle that they doomed to repeat over and over again I think you'll see more teams (like the Pirates) using the Rays' model of signing young talent early on - buying out arbitration years and then getting what would be the first few years of free agency at a market discount. The only problem is, who in their right mind would want to call Pittsburgh home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Jet Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 Pirates are going to set a record for most under 500 seasons in a row I think this year - terrible what they have done to that franchise. How'd you like to be a Pirate fan knowing the season is over by mid May ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenranger Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 How'd you like to be a Pirate fan knowing the season is over by mid May ? I'm a nationals fan try having your season over in April Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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