Pirates acquire minor league infielder Edward Salcedo from Atlanta

In a minor league move earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta braves swapped a pair of players, with infielder Edward Salcedo heading to the Steel City in exchange for right-hander Bryton Trepagnier.

The move likely won’t pay dividends at the major league level for some time – if ever – for either side. Salcedo spent last season with Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate, but he struggled at the dish, batting .212/.294/.357 in 110 contests. A career .230 hitter, the 23-year-old has never hit above .236 in a minor league season – leaving plenty to be desired moving forward.

The young infielder was inked to a $1.6 million bonus five years ago, heading into the season as the 12th-ranked prospect in the system, per Baseball America. For the Pirates, he adds more depth to the system – but with the plethora of middle infielders already in the mix at the big league level in Pittsburgh, Salcedo doesn’t seem likely to see PNC Park anytime soon.

Heading to Atlanta in the deal is the right-hander Trepagnier, who, at 23 years old, showed great promise last year, posting a career-best 2.53 earned run average across 38 games as a reliever. He also finished 25 games for Bradenton, to go along with 1.256 WHIP and an impressive 5.7 hits-per-nine mark.

Trepagnier, who was drafted in the 41st round of the 2010 MLB Draft, really seemed to put it all together last season after struggling in 2013 with the organization’s Class-A affiliate, with a 4.95 ERA in 43 appearances.

Trading the righty is a bit of a head-scratcher from the Pirates’ perspective, given his upside and the questionable return. However, the deal is in the books now, and, moving forward, the team has plenty of pitching depth to make up the difference at the big league level.

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