Pittsburgh Pirates trade deadline roundup

The Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans can now exhale.

The 2015 MLB non-waiver trade deadline has officially passed.

EDIT: well, it seems I should start taking some of my own advice.

Mere minutes after the 4pm EST trade deadline – the Pittsburgh Pirates swung a trade for Mike Morse from the Dodgers in exchange for Jose Tabata and Cash

Mike Morse is a career .276 right-handed hitter who can play 1B and OF positions. He has 103 career home runs, including a high-mark of 31 in 2011 when playing for the Washington Nationals. Here are his career stats:

Although he has struggled in recent years, the fact that Morse can play 1B likely made him very attractive to the Pirates.

EDIT2: J.A. Happ is now a Pittsburgh Pirate in exchange for Adrian  Sampson. Time restraints limit us from going in depth on this acquisition but expect more from us soon. Right now, here is the career line for Happ, who is coming over from a dreadful Seattle team:

While not as much of a whirlwind as the 2014 deadline, the 2015 version was not without its charms. The Pirates struck early – adding Aramis Ramirez a full eight days before the deadline on July 23rd. Since then, Ramirez has struggled a bit – 4-for-22 as a Pirate – but at the very least provides a presence right after Andrew McCutchen in the lineup. From our initial reaction to the trade:

"While he’s a career .284 hitter, this season he’s batting .247/.295/.430 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs. He also has 42 strikeouts to 16 walks. While by some measures he’s having a down year, Ramirez has been playing for a losing club in what may be his final season. Moving to a contender, and to the organization that drafted him 21 years ago, with a chance to compete for a World Series for the first time in his career, might spark his play"

After acquiring a bat, Neal Huntington then turned his attention to a suddenly-lacking middle section of the Pirates’ bullpen. With continued struggles from Antonio Bastardo and Arquimedes Caminero, the need for a bullpen arm suddenly became greater than we all thought even three to four weeks ago. Enter…Joe Blanton?

Blanton is a name that was on approximately ZERO Pittsburgh Pirates fan’s radar. But as we explained in our acquisition breakdown, there is a lot to like for the former Philadelphia Phillies starter.

"If we take a hard look at these numbers, we can find a lot to like. The first that jumps out is Blanton’s strikeout-to-walk ratio. With 40 punchouts against but seven free passes, we see that Blanton is a pitcher that values control. He would have to, as he’s not going to blow anyone away with his velocity. His four-seamer only averages 90.4 mph, according to FanGraphs. Blanton has a nice arsenal of pitches, with a cut fastball, sinker, slider, curve, and change all in play. Blanton uses all of those pitches to end up with a very good swinging-strike percentage – 11.1% to be precise. That figure would put him right in the middle of the current pack of Pittsburgh Pirates relievers, on par with Mark Melancon. Blanton sets batters up with the fastball (thrown 52% of the time) and then uses the slider as his strikeout pitch (hurled 24.2% of the time). On the slider, batters are hitting .240 while the changeup is even more effective, with batters struggling to hit it at .091."

After some initial scrutiny, Pirates fans came around on Blanton somewhat. Those that still bemoaned the move were satiated when the Pirates acquired Joakim Soria on July 30. Soria is a solid bullpen arm with 201 career saves. He easily slots in right before Tony Watson or Melancon, and can save games on those days when Melancon is not available. From our analysis on Soria:

"He’s having a very good year this year, and knows how to pitch in high pressure situations. This season, he has a 2.85 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP, has thrown 36 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched. His FIP, however, is 4.85 in 2015, which is exactly two points higher than his ERA. This is a noticeable difference, and it’ll be interesting to see if Soria regresses at all moving forward. However, his career ERA of 2.61 and FIP of 3.04 means that any regression is far from guaranteed. It’s also important to note that Soria had Tommy John surgery in 2012."

All of that foreplay brought us to the day in question. July 31 is quickly becoming one of the most-anticipated days on the MLB calendar. While many teams were still finalizing deals and whispers flew, the Pittsburgh Pirates were content to sit back and watch the madness. Was no move the right move? Are the Ramirez, Blanton, & Soria acquisitions enough to gird the team for an NL Central dogfight?  To take the easy way out, let’s pull out a tried-and-true sports cliche: only time will tell.

Let’s now turn our attention to what the Pittsburgh Pirates’ NL Central rivals did at the deadline:

Next: The Cubs and Brewers

Jul 24, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers Ryan Braun celebrates with Carlos Gomez (27) after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the sixth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout the entire trade deadline buildup, I was surprised at how quiet the Chicago Cubs were. Were they truly looking to next year to truly contend? Did they suddenly believe that they didn’t have the holes that they do?  In either event, the Cubs were content to lay low for most of the buildup before finally striking a deal for Dan Haren, the much-maligned pitcher who famously threatened to retire rather than play for the Miami Marlins. Despite the pre-season drama, Haren has had a very good year, with a 3.42 ERA with the fish.

The Milwaukee Brewers saw the writing on the wall and began their rebuild. After a famously-aborted trade with the Milwaukee Brewers that would have netted them Zack Wheeler for their best offensive player in Carlos Gomez, the Brewers instead opted to send Gomez out to the Houston Astros, throwing in capable mid-rotation starter Mike Fiers in the deal. They weren’t done, as later in the day they sent outfielder Gerardo Parra to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for – you guessed it – a pitching prospect. This in addition to jettisoning Ramirez as we all know.

With these moves and serious questions on their pitching staff, the Brewers do not figure to present a challenge to the Pirates, Cardinals, and Cubs any time soon.

Now we’ll take a look at what the Cardinals and Reds pulled off this year.

Next: Red Birds and Red Legs

Jul 30, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first basemen Brandon Moss (21) bats in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Aside from the Pirates themselves, most Pirates fans had their eyes squarely on what the Cardinals were doing. In the end, the Cards did not make as big a splash as many might have predicted in light of a new Matt Holliday injury. What they did do is go out and get a .217-hitting, free-swinging slugger in Brandon Moss. Moss is a name familiar to many Pirates fans, but is having an up-and-down season in many regards. Despipte slugging 15 home runs and 50 RBI, Moss has a 31% strikeout rate and a lowly .288 on base percentage. For a team that prides itself on being able to backfill holes in their lineup, they may need to continue to look in-house to maintain their ridiculous momentum.

The Cards also acquired Steve Cishek from the Miami Marlins. A former 30-save closer with his best days behind him, Cishek was nonetheless a desired bullpen piece. With a 4.50 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP, it will be interesting to see how much the change of scenery factor may impact what the Cardinals get out of Cishek.

To the excitement of Pittsburgh Pirates fans, the Cardinals also brought Jonathon Broxton to the fold from the Brewers. I’ll just leave this here

Broxton’s career numbers against current Pirates

The Cincinnati Reds had a simultaneously interesting and boring trade season. They began by doing what all expected them to do: trading Johnny Cueto. They found a dance partner in the Kansas City Royals, who shipped off an impressive trio of left-handed pitching prospects to the Red Legs in return. The Reds also shipped off Mike Leake to the San Francisco Giants. Leake – aka The Pirate Killer – will supplant Tim Hudson and play a role in the defending champions’ starting staff. Leake is a classic innings-eater with upside to be more. With a career ERA of 3.87 and 2.70 strikeout-to-walk ratio, Leake is a perfect example of a rental who can help push a fringe wild card team towards clinching a spot. Not done there, the Reds traded slugger Jay Bruce to the Mets in exchange for Zack Wheeler. Upon first look, the Reds got the better of that deal, with Wheeler showing great promise and under control until 2020. Perhaps most surprisingly, Aroldis Chapman did NOT get traded, despite extreme interest from the Arizona Diamondbacks and others. Jay Bruce also didn’t go anywhere despite some heavy rumors to the contrary.

After reviewing the Pittsburgh Pirates’ moves and the moves of their rivals there is but one question. Did Neal Huntington do enough? Many would say no, pointing to the lack of a staring pitcher or bench bat acquisition. Some would say yes as the team shored up its bullpen and added a stopgap bat until Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer return. The answer likely lies somewhere in between of course. There is still the waiver trade deadline at the end of August of course.

What do you think? Did Neal Huntington drop the ball? What player did you hope that the Pirates would have acquired? Let us know in the comments or on our twitter below.

Next: All eyes on Neal Huntington