Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Trade Deadline - Gaby & Chad Come, Gorkys & Casey Go

Well, the Bucs got Wandy Rodriguez and Travis Snider so far. The FO stuck to its guns, passing up on overpriced rentals and dealing from a team strength, pitching. Looks like the big deals are done.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports thinks they'll look for a bench guy and a little bullpen depth today. Jon Morosi of Fox Sports believe they'll be beating the bushes for a RH stick. If we were to speculate, a RH bat and a LH reliever sound about right.

The Bucs did eventually pick up a bat of sorts - 1B Gaby Sanchez of the Fish and RH reliever Kyle Kaminiska in exchange for CF Gorkys Hernandez. With four young outfielders in Pittsburgh and being out of options, moving Hernandez wasn't a surprise.

Sanchez is a RH batter, and is having a pretty poor year, batting .202 and getting shipped to the minors. But the 28 year old hit 38 homers and 163 RBI in 2010-11 with a career .269 BA. He was an All-Star on 2011. Next season will be his first arb year, so the Bucs have him under control through 2015. Seems like he's more a pickup for 2013 purposes than to add much to the team now. We'll see where he ends up being assigned, to either Pittsburgh or Indianapolis.

Kaminska is a 23 year old minor league pitcher who looks pretty much like a toss in, although he did have some decent AA peripheral numbers. He'ss gone a combined 6-4 with one save and a 5.20 ERA in 33 relief appearances this year for Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans. The Pirates haven't determined where to send him yet.

The Bucs also gave the Marlins their competitive pick, number #33 next year, which sure sweetened the pot for Miami.

Right at the last tick, the Bucs sent Casey McGehee to the NYY for RHP Chad Qualls, 33, who has been pretty miserable this year, with 6.14 ERA and 1.773 WHIP for the Bombers, and a 4.89 ERA and 1.58 WHIP in 43 appearances split between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Yankees. But it's not all bad; the veteran Qualls does just fine against righties, so he can be effective in the right situation.

Looks like Gaby Sanchez has a spot in the show after all. He's supposed to report to Chicago tomorrow, and will get some time at first with GI Jones.

The Pirates have one spot open on their 40 man roster after the wheelin' and dealin', and will probably clean that up tomorrow.

So a quiet end to the trade deadline. The Bucs didn't land an established bat, but not many of those commodities switched teams. It looks like the new CBA got a lot guys signed to new deals and a lot more will be showcased during the off season.

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