Pittsburgh Pirates Trade Kevin Newman to Cincinnati Reds

Shortly after tendering him a contract ahead of Friday’s deadline to do so, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded infielder Kevin Newman to the Cincinnati Reds

With the 19th overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected shortstop Kevin Newman. Newman was selected out of the Arizona. Now, seven years later, his time as a member of the Pirate organization has come to an end.

On Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded Kevin Newman to their divisional rival Cincinnati Reds. This came shortly after the Pirates tendered Newman a contract for the 2023 season ahead of Friday’s deadline to do so.

While inner-division trades can be rare this marks the second in five months for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In addition to the Newman trade, they acquired starting pitcher Johan Oviedo and infield/designated hitter prospect Malcolm Nuñez from the St. Louis Cardinals this past July in exchange for José Quintana.

In his five-year MLB career Newman has played in 431 games with the Pirates. Newman has hit for a .260/.303/.357 slash line with a 77 wRC+ in 1663 career plate appearances. However, after posting a 109 wRC+ in 2019, Newman has been statistically one of the worst hitters in baseball since the start of the 2020 season.

Newman played 31.2 innings at third base in 2019, but most of his MLB work came at shortstop and second base. In his carer he owns a -9 Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop and -1 DRS at second base. His Outs Above Average in his career are -8 at shortstop and -5 at second base. He is also one of the worst hitters in baseball in terms of har-hit rate and exit velocity.

In exchange for Newman the Pirates are receiving reliever Dauri Moreta. Last season Moreta pitched 38.1 innings out of the Cincinnati bullpen, posting a 5.40 ERA, 5.80 FIP, 8.1% walk rate, and a 24.4% strikeout rate. Moreta brings six years of team control and two minor league options to Pittsburgh.

Newman had been a mainstay on the Pirate roster since 2018. The former first-round pick will now be moving on as he looks to improve his offensive output. We wish Kevin all the best in his new endeavor in Cincinnati.