Take A Closer Look at Pittsburgh Pirates New Acquisitions, Clint Robinson and Vin Mazzaro

Feb 29, 2012; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Clint Robinson (25) poses for a picture during the Royals photo day at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

When a baseball trade is made by the Pittsburgh Pirates, a bit of excitement is often felt by fans.  It’s a natural feeling I guess.

But before we start handing out roster spots to the latest Buccos,  Clint Robinson and Vin Mazzaro we decided to wait patiently, take a deep breath, and see what a guy we perceive as a KC expert had to say.  It didn’t take long, and linked below are 1500 words from our favorite KC Royals writer, Wally Fish. 

We will cherry pick a few of his sentences, and then encourage you to go read the complete article from Fish.  The guy is an encyclopedia of Kansas City sports and his opinion has a great deal of weight with me.  So, here we go.

First up is the 26-year old Mazzaro who back in 2011 gave up 14 earned runs against the vaunted Cleveland Indians offense in 2.1 innings!

"Mazzaro was 1.1 wins below replacement level in the majors and was merely serviceable in 190.2 innings with the Omaha Storm Chasers.I’m somewhat amazed that the Pirates had any interest in him."

Shit.  That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Next up is minor league superstar Clint Robinson:

"Robinson has turned in some monster seasons along the way but the general belief is that his bat and skill set won’t produce at the major league level."

So there you have it Pirates fans.   The Bucs get a first baseman who will be 28 years old on opening day, hoping against hope that he can become a Garrett Jones type-late bloomer.

Good luck to  Luis Santos and Luis Rico as they get an opportunity with Kansas City.  Kudos to Royals GM Dayton Moore for turning two players that were designated for assignment into some young pitching with a few hints of upside, all of the risk in this deal lies on the Pirates shoulders. 

We aren’t sure where the gain is in this minor deal if Robinson should fail to produce.   It’s hard to envision Mazzaro ever pitching at PNC Park.

Somebody within the Buccos braintrust must think that Robinson is going to produce in some fashion for the Buccos to give up two young arms for players that the Royals couldn’t use.   Is Robinson going to become the next Steve Pearce or the next Garrett Jones?

Jones will have an escalating salary that could scare off the budget minded Bucs, so if Robinson could somehow step into that role, this could turn out as a positive.  Right now, it just looks like hope-ium.

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Robinson whiff