The Pittsburgh Pirates Five Best Trades Of The Neal Huntington Era

Number Five: Pittsburgh Pirates trade Minor League outfielder Quincy Latimroe to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Jeanmar Gomez (January 9th, 2013)

Jeanmar Gomez checks in at number five on this list for two reasons. First off, because in his two seasons as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates he pitched extremely effectively. Secondly, because the Pirates got him for essentially nothing.

On January 9th, 2013, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded career Minor League outfielder Quincy Latimore to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Jeanmar Gomez. At the time, this was a trade that had a lot of Pirate fans scratching their heads. Prior to joining the Pittsburgh Pirates Jeanmar Gomez had a 5.18 ERA, 4.88 FIP, 4.58 xFIP, and was averaging just 4.88 K/9 in 206 2/3 career innings pitched.

Semi-surprisingly, Jeanmar Gomez made the Pirate bullpen out of Spring Training in 2013. Many Pirate fans were not happy that Gomez had made the team. However, Jeanmar would quickly begin to prove his value.

In two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates Jeanmar Gomez appeared in 78 games, included eight starts, and he pitched 142 2/3 innings. In those 142 2/3 innings pitched he averaged 5.74 K/9, 3.22 BB/9, 0.76 HR/9, and he posted a 1.30 WHIP. This all culminated in Gomez having a 3.28 ERA in two seasons as a Pirate.

During his two seasons in Pittsburgh Jeanmar Gomez, quietly, played a big role in the Pirates achieving back-to-back postseason berths. He played a lot of roles for manager Clint Hurdle. Gomez was a starting pitcher, a spot starter, a long man out of the bullpen, and even a late innings reliever at times.

Not only was Jeanmar Gomez an effective pitcher for the Pirates, he was also acquired for an otufielder that has never played above the Double-A level. For these reasons, he checks in at number five on the list.

Next: The 2013 Trade Deadline