- 1970 - The Pirates and the Kansas City Royals swung a six player trade with P Bruce Dal Canton, C Jerry May and SS Freddie Patek going to KC while C Jim Campanis, SS Jackie Hernandez and P Bob Johnson came to the Bucs. Patek and Dal Canton were everyday players for KC, with Patek playing nine years for the KC and winning three All-Star berths. Johnson was 17-16-7/3.34 with the Bucs and Hernandez was a reserve infielder, both lasting three years for the Pirates. Campanis didn't make the club until 1973, and he only had six at-bats.
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| Jackie Hernandez 1973 Topps |
- 1976 - Danny Murtaugh‚ who had retired two months earlier as Pirate manager‚ died of a heart attack/stroke at age 59 in his Chester home. He compiled a 1,115-950 record in 2,068 games (.540), second-most wins in Pirates history behind only Fred Clarke, and took two World Series championships. His number 40 was retired by the Pirates on Opening Day, 1977.
- 1991 - After six years as a Pirate, Bobby Bonilla signed as a free agent with the New York Mets. His five-year, $29M deal made him the game's highest-paid player at the time. From 1986 to 1991, Bonilla had a .284 batting average, with 114 home runs, and 500 RBI's. He led the league in extra base hits in 1990 and in doubles in 1991. Bonilla also made the All-Star team four years in a row. Bo is currently being paid about $1.2M by the New York Mets each year up to 2035, as part of a negotiated buy-out of a second deal signed in 1999, turning $5.9M due to him in 2000 into $29.8M over 25 years.
- 2013 - C Chris Stewart was traded to the Bucs by the New York Yankees for a PTBNL, who ended up being minor league pitcher Kyle Haynes. Stew played through two option seasons before signing up for another two year stint (with a club option for a third) following 107 games and a .292 BA with the Pirates as the #2 man from 2014-15. Stew got into just 34 games in 2016 and had season-ending surgery on his knee in September.
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| Pedro Alvarez 2015 Topps |
- 2015 - Former #1 pick (second overall) in 2008, 1B Pedro Alvarez, was non-tendered and became a free agent. Pedro hit 131 homers in 742 games for Pittsburgh, but his inability to solve lefties (.203 BA), strikeouts (809) and fielding woes made his projected $8M arbitration award too pricey for the Bucs, which had tried unsuccessfully to move him to an AL club for two years running. Jaff Decker, a depth outfielder, was also non-tendered. El Toro hit .249 w/22 HR with the Orioles in 2016, mostly as a DH (he handled nine balls in the field and made four errors). Jaff served as organizational depth for Tampa, getting into 19 games.
4 errors in 9 total chances? Wow. That's got to be the worst case of the "yips" since at least Chuck Knoblach if not ever. Not even "Doctor Strangeglove" was that bad. Pedro did have a strong arm and he was capable of making excellent defensive plays at third, but there's obviously something going on between his ears. I wonder if the O's will re-sign him.
ReplyDeleteStewart did a really nice job as our number two catcher but between his bum knee on one side, and the catching prospects the Pirates have in the minors on the other, I didn't understand why the front office offered him the second two-year deal.
Yah, Pedro looks look a DH, lol. Pity, too, since he's not a bad fielder, just a terrible tosser. As for Stew, there's no one behind him other than Diaz and Stallings in the system (maybe Jin-de Jhang?). I'd expect the FO wants some more work for Diaz after being injured for so much of last year, so Stew's the bridge once again, with no-glove Eric Fryer the emergency roster man.
ReplyDeleteDiaz is the guy I was thinking of, though Jhang is thought to have major league potential, also. The Pirates dealt their other upper-minors catcher (whose name escapes me just now) to Toronto in the Liriano trade. Stallings, I think, is basically a "Four-A" type, but he'll do as depth for the time being. I assume Diaz is considered the catcher of the future.
ReplyDeleteYep, Diaz is next in line, Will. Reese McGuire was the guy they dealt. His bat never came around, so he was projected as a future Jacob Stallings-type. Fryer just got his walking papers, so the safety net is a little thinner now.
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